


Found you between the stars

by bunnysworld



Series: Space Boys [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Space, Interspecies Relationship(s), M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:47:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 62
Words: 95,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25105678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bunnysworld/pseuds/bunnysworld
Summary: Captain Arthur Pendragon and the crew of the Camelot are a bit bored because their science mission turned into hauling cargo or playing taxi to dignitaries across the known universe when they catch a distress signal. They go investigate and encounter an alien life form.
Relationships: Gwaine/Percival (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Space Boys [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1818322
Comments: 912
Kudos: 386





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a little drabble for my Camelot Drabble July Bingo Card. It ran away with me. I'm happy that something tickled my writing mojo back into existence. Not sure if I have something here or if I should just end it right there. What do you think?
> 
> As always, not beta'd.

Arthur stood at the healing tank and once again wondered what had drawn him there, as so often in the past couple of days. He had just been standing on the bridge, listening to the banter of the best pilot he’d ever had and his head of security, who complained that they were actually on a science mission but lately had been reduced to transporting more or less precious cargo half across the known universe or providing taxi services to some dignitaries, when their communication officer made a little sound. 

“Mithian?” Arthur knew that he shouldn’t call his crew by their first names while they were on duty. It was unprofessional and reduced the distance he should have as a captain. 

“There’s…I’m catching something that sounds like a distress signal…” Her face screwed up in concentration, Arthur knew better than ask questions. She was listening, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. “It’s not in any language we’ve encountered before, though.”

Silence fell over the bridge and they exchanged glances. Mankind had spread out over the universe in the past millennia and even though evolution had done it’s job and adjusted the humans to their new environments, they had yet to encounter any highly developed life form that didn’t originate from Earth. 

Mithian was fluent in about twenty languages that were spoken throughout the Union and the rest was fed into the ship’s computer, so they could easily communicate with everyone. That neither she nor the ship ever heard the language the distress signal was in could only mean one thing: They had encountered an alien life form. 

Arthur’s heart was beating faster. This was why he had joined the fleet. When he was five years old, he had looked up into the night sky and told his father that he would become a captain in the star fleet and that he would be the first to meet ‘sky people’ as he had no better word for it. It looked as if his dream would come true. 

“Distance?” He took a deep breath and fixed his eyes on the big screen that projected the space around them. 

Lance typed hectically on his panel. “Seems to come from that wide empty space that borders the Maccian Nebula.”

“How long does it take us to get there?” It would be a diversion but they were a ship of the star fleet of the Union. They could not let a distress call go unanswered, it would have been against any moral standards that were ingrained in every single one of his crew. 

His science officer shrugged. “A little hyperspace jump…”

“Lance.”

“We could make it in half a day.”

Arthur straightened up even more. “Gwaine, take us there.”

He could feel the excitement around him and could barely contain his own. Whatever was waiting for them out there, it would be new territory and that was what they all signed up for. On the other hand, there were protocols to follow if this case ever happened and he needed to prepare the rest of the crew for what was probably coming. 

“Leon,” he turned to his first officer.

“Sir?”

“You have the bridge.”

“Aye, Sir.”

+++

Arthur couldn’t get enough of the fine features and the sharp cheekbones, the long fingers and the dark unruly hair. The only give-away that he wasn’t looking at a human were the ears. They were sticking out quite a bit and had little pointy ends. If he didn’t know better, he would have guessed that someone had been dressing up to look like a character from that ancient science fiction show or the fantasy movies that were still shown on one of the nostalgia channels in the middle of the night. 

“There it is!” Gwaine had yelled out when he got sight of the vessel. 

After talking to the ship’s head medical officer, who happened to be his sister, Arthur had made sure that Mordred cleared one of the cargo areas and secured it the way they were trained for. He had made an announcement to the rest of the crew. The excitement floating through the ship was almost tangible and made him smile. He knew, though, that it was probably dangerous to meet alien species and had Percy double-check on all the security measures that the protocol dictated. 

“Scan for life forms.” Arthur didn’t even notice that he held his breath when Lance performed the scan. 

“One.” 

“Alright, time to introduce ourselves. Mithian?” Arthur got up from his chair and straightened up to his full height. 

“No answer, Sir.”

“Open an audio channel and have the computer translate into every known language. Maybe we’re lucky and whoever this is understands one of them.”

She typed away on her panel and then turned back and nodded. 

“This is the Union Ship Camelot, I am Captain Arthur Pendragon. We caught your distress signal. What’s the reason for your emergency?” 

There was no answer and after a while of tense listening, the crew started to throw each other glances. 

“Lance, is there any movement?”

Looking up from his panel, Lance shook his head. “Negative.”

“Gwaine, get us closer. Percy, meet me in the shuttle dock.”

Leon’s head snapped around. “But Arthur!” It was rare that Leon called him by his first name while they were on duty. “Wouldn’t it be safer to haul the vessel in with our tractor beam?”

They had gone through this back and forth. Of course it posed a danger if they were boarding an unknown ship they got no response from. There might have been defense mechanisms they had never heard about or the atmosphere was deadly to them. There also might be valuable equipment on the ship that they could examine or even use that might get lost if they just brought in the passenger. They all had sworn to serve the Union and protect every living creature in it, so Arthur had decided that the life form was in Union territory and therefore needed their protection. 

“The bridge is yours, number one.” 

Of course they didn’t neglect their scans and soon found out that the air inside the vessel would be breathable for them. They still didn’t discard of their helmets when they finally entered. Who knew what kind of bacteria or virus-like things were floating around that these creatures needed to live but that would kill them instantly? It would have been a lie, though, if he said he wasn’t excited and wanted to squeal like a school girl that they were the first humans to set foot on an alien ship. 

Lance guided them through to where they could find the alien. It was soothing to have his voice coming over the speakers in his helmet. It was like a connection, a life line to the Camelot and it kept him from getting distracted by his urge to explore the entire vessel. 

When they finally opened the doors to the cockpit, Arthur was almost disappointed. The creature seemed to be unconscious and had sunken over the controls. Other than the ears poking out from a thick mop of hair and being really skinny, it looked like any other human, though. When the creature didn’t respond to being addressed or their careful shakes after touching it’s shoulder, Percy simply hauled it over his shoulder and they made their way back to the shuttle. 

Morgana and her medical staff had been on stand-by and took over as soon as they were back on board. When Arthur was out of his space suit and de-contaminated, he pressed his communicator. “Doctor Pendragon?”

“Captain?” It was almost funny how Arthur was on a first-name basis with everyone in the crew but his sister. 

“Status.”

“We’re in the sick bay now after discovering that the alien is humanoid and close enough to our own biology that we can try to heal him with our means.”

“Coming.”

+++

Why don’t you wake up?

Arthur caught himself as he was reaching out to touch a hand against the cylinder of the tank. Morgana had assured him that the alien was even closer to their own biological structure than a chimpanzee and therefore she had tried to treat him with everything they had on board. He didn’t have any visible injuries and her scans didn’t come up with any internal damage either. 

“He might have put himself in a healing statis.” She suggested. 

“He?” The alien looked like man, but then again, it was an alien. Who knew? Maybe this species all looked alike and you needed to know them to find out which ones were male and which female? Or maybe they didn’t have any sexes at all? Or they could be whatever they decided to be?

“Arthur,” Morgana laughed. “We had to get him out of his clothes to examine him properly. Trust me, he is very much a he.”

Clearing his throat, Arthur hoped that the blush he felt on his cheeks wasn’t visible. “Alright. How long will that take? And how can we help him?” He hoped that Morgana would go back to professional mode and she did him the favor. 

“If only I knew. He might look like us, but he’s probably so advanced that he can do things that will be very interesting to examine.”

“He will be treated as our guest, not as a specimen sample for your experiments.” For some reason, he felt very protective of the alien already. 

“Of course only if he lets me. Maybe some good conversations will enlighten us.” She smiled as she checked some displays. 

“He needs to wake up first. And then there’s the language barrier. The good conversation might have to wait a while.”

Morgana had made the decision to put the alien into one of their healing tanks. That way, he could take all the time he needed and the solution in the tank provided nourishment and offered medication. 

That had been three weeks ago.

++

The first couple of days, their rescue mission had been the number one talk in the hallways and the mess hall. When there was no change in the alien’s condition, the crew had turned back to the usual gossip and it was almost as if they had forgotten about his existence. 

Arthur just couldn’t. He went through his days the way he did before, made decision, praised where praise was due, corrected what he had to correct and focused on delivering their cargo. More often than not, he found himself in the separated section of the sick bay, standing in front of the healing tank. It was as if the alien was calling out to him, drew him in, wanted his presence. 

Shaking his head, Arthur almost chuckled. It wasn’t true. It was an alien and the very first one of his kind that they met and therefore he was interesting. Nothing more and nothing less. 

Still, Arthur could recall the look of the alien’s face when he was in his bed at night and longed for the moment he would come to and he could find out who he was. What he was. The mission he was on. What had brought him into the situation they had found him in. 

A team had salvaged what they could from the alien’s little ship and it was all stored away in the cargo hold that was sealed. If the containers held experiments or just personal mementos, they couldn’t tell and Arthur had decided that they wouldn’t be opened by anyone but the alien himself. 

Once again, Arthur stood in front of the tank. It was in the middle of the night and he should be in bed, sleeping, getting enough rest for another more or less exciting day, but it had felt like someone had called his name until he woke up and knew where he had to go to. 

“What do you want?” He whispered. “You called me, I’m here.”

If the lone medical technician who had the night shift noticed, he didn’t show. 

The lines on the display changed. “Is this normal?” Arthur asked out loud. Before the technician had made his way over, it looked as if the alien was taking a deep breath. 

Then he opened his eyes. 

+++

Arthur stumbled back. He was so used to the familiar sleeping figure that the blue eyes that seemed to focus on him in wonder, came as a shock. He didn’t know what he had expected. Maybe some kind of colour that wasn’t normal for humans? Purple, maybe? Or orange? Or probably a shape of pupils that clearly marked him as non-human? Like a snake or a goat or something? But no, the alien had blue eyes, a very intense blue and they were trained on him. 

The technician checked displays as the alien reached out his hands and touched the glass. 

“He wants out. Let him out. He’s ready.”

Morgana, still tying the belt of her silken bathrobe, ran into the room. “What’s happening?” She took over from the technician, checked the displays and then, for the first time, looked up. “He’s awake.”

“Let him out!” Arthur insisted. 

“Shouldn’t we establish some form of communication first?” Percy had rushed into the room, too. “He might not be delighted that we caged him in like that and seek revenge?”

Arthur knew that he needed to say this. He was the ship’s security officer and the finest he had ever had. He shook his head, though. Holding the alien’s gaze, he repeated “Let him out.”

Without looking, he knew that Percy had his hand on the handle of his blaster and Morgana held that weird device that could scan you but also zap you, but she pressed a few signs on the display next to the tank and very slowly, the front slid to the side. 

The alien watched all this with wide eyes, before he looked at Arthur again. 

“Hello.” Arthur tried a smile. Before he could rattle down the standard phrases the academy had drilled into him, the alien took a step out of the tank and then collapsed into his arms.

+++

Immediately, they all had sprung into action to steady the alien and help him over to one of the beds. Morgana had run more tests, the technician had helped, Percy had watched all of it with tense anticipation and Arthur knew he had been in the way. 

After a while, the alien said something. 

“Whoa, alright…this isn’t going to be easy.” None of them had understood a word. “Let’s try this differently.” Arthur felt the eyes of everyone in the room on him, when he gestured towards Morgana. “Morgana.” He said before pointing to Percy. “Percy.” Finally, he pointed to himself and went “Arthur.”

The alien’s eyes lit up with understanding. “Arthur.”

“That’s me, yes. Who are you?” Arthur gestured to him.

Looking from one to the other, the alien repeated their names. “Morgana, Percy…Arthur.” A contagious smile spread on the handsome face. 

Arthur chuckled. “Yes, that’s us. And you? Who are you? What is your name?”

The creature sat up a bit straighter. “Merlin.”

+++


	2. Chapter 2

Very soon after that, Merlin could be released from sick bay and Arthur took it upon himself to lead him through the ship to the quarters they assigned him. 

“I know, the corridors all look the same, but you will quickly adapt and find your way around the ship.” He had no idea how much of what he was saying made any sense to Merlin, but he wanted to treat him like any other guest on board. That Percy walked a few steps behind them, his hand still on the handle of his blaster, didn’t make it easier, though. 

Arthur knew Percy was right. They knew nothing about Merlin and he could pose a threat to the entire crew and the ship. There was something about him, though, that made Arthur trust him instantly. It was probably a mistake, but he already liked the tall alien. 

It was a joy to watch Merlin look at things, taking in his new environment almost like a child with wide eyes and wonder. 

“And here we are.” Arthur punched a few spots on the display and the door slid open. “Your new quarters.” He made an inviting gesture so Merlin would step into the rooms. 

He had insisted on one of the larger quarters that had windows and all the amenities the ship had to offer. If he was honest, part of him wanted to show off as he was really proud of the Camelot, the newest ship in the entire fleet. On the other hand, they didn’t know how long Merlin had been out there in space, on his own and he deserved nice quarters with enough room to move around in case they needed to keep him in there for a while. 

Merlin looked around and then carefully set a foot into the room. When he saw his clothes, cleaned and nicely folded, hanging over the back of a chair, he rushed over. 

Arthur watched as Merlin reached for a ragged neckerchief and put it around his neck right away. Alright…whatever it meant to Merlin, it must have been important. 

“You have a full food replicator unit over here. You only need to tell it what exactly you want. We might have to reprogram it to things you are used to once we can communicate a bit better.” He went over and demonstrated the function. “A bottle of water.” When the device produced the requested bottle, he held it out to Merlin. 

Watching him unscrew the bottle, sniffing at it and then downing the water in one large drag, Arthur exchanged a look with Percy. “He must be hungry and thirsty. Let’s show him the mess hall.”

+++

Even though Percy had advised him to have food sent over, Arthur insisted on taking Merlin and showing him where he could get more food or drink. He had no idea if Merlin understood a single thing, but his hunch that Merlin was hungry had been right. He needed to have a word with Morgana who had insisted that the solution in the tank had everything Merlin needed. Either that wasn’t the case or Merlin’s metabolism worked a lot faster than their own. 

He ordered a few different meals and encouraged Merlin to try them all. Even though this ship was equipped with the latest technology, there was nothing that he didn’t know, so after a few months, the meals had started to taste alike. It was like discovering them for the first time as he watched Merlin carefully trying out salads and curries, chicken and steak and eating a bit more of the dishes he liked. Finally, he shoved the plates away and seemed to be done. 

“Do you still have some space left for dessert?” Arthur grinned. 

Merlin looked at him with wide eyes and then grinned back. 

For a moment, Arthur just watched Merlin’s eye crinkle up. The smile could light up a room and sure was contagious, but then he caught himself and ordered some desserts for Merlin. 

That seemed to surprise the man, but he tried all of them, paying the most attention to a simple fruit salad. 

When he was done, he stifled a yawn. 

“How impolite of me. Of course you must be tired after all you’ve been through. Let me take you back to your quarters, so you can rest.” He got up and Merlin did the same. 

When they were back at Merlin’s quarters, Arthur opened the door again. “Have a good night.”

Merlin didn’t seem to understand, so Arthur put his hands together, placed them next to his face, tilted his head and closed his eyes, mimicking the deep breathing of a sleeping person. It was ridiculous, but Merlin seemed to understand as he nodded once. Once he stepped into the room again, he turned as if he seemed to wait for Arthur to enter, too. 

Arthur nodded a good-bye and as the door slid shut, he went back to his own quarters. He had no idea what to do next with Merlin. They couldn’t leave him locked up in his quarters all day and somehow they needed to start some form of communication. Sometimes, during the past hours, he had caught himself talking to Merlin like he would to a child. He needed to stop that. They hadn’t found Merlin in some remote part of an underdeveloped planet. He had piloted a space ship. A much smaller one than the Camelot, but he had been in outer space, therefore he must be intelligent. Probably not intelligent enough to have built his space ship, but Arthur was just commanding his ship, too, and he wasn’t in this position because he was the best engineer of the fleet. 

He had so many questions he wanted to ask, but for now, he had a call to star fleet to make and he was sure there were some messages waiting that needed his attention. 

+++

“He might be a spy.” Percy looked sinister.

Even though Arthur felt that Merlin was nothing of that sort, he was glad that Percy kept his guards up. That was his job as Head of Security and he was good at it. “For whom?”

“I don’t know. We don’t know anything about him.”

Leon nodded. “Lieutenant Smitherton is right. We need to find out more and therefore I suggest to keep him in his quarters.”

“We will do no such thing.” Arthur thought he had made it clear that Merlin would be treated as a guest. 

“He might spread space germs.” Gwaine swiveled his chair from left to right and back and grinned widely when Arthur threw him a look. 

Morgana spoke up. “If Merlin has something that might be dangerous to our health, it is nothing we could detect. So far, nobody who has been in contact with him, is affected and I would say that he is perfectly healthy.”

“I found him in the mess hall this morning! On his own! We can’t have him wandering around the ship unsupervised!” Percy almost jumped up.

“I am certain that he was just hungry. I showed him the mess hall and how it works yesterday, so why wouldn’t he use it?” Arthur felt strangely proud that Merlin had managed to open the doors to his quarters and found his way to the mess hall on his own and even managed to order a breakfast for himself. Of course, Percy was right. Merlin might be even more intelligent than they paid him credit for and they needed to protect the ship. 

Gwaine looked at Percy. “How did he get out of his rooms? If he doesn’t speak our language, how could he find out how to open the doors?”

Percy started the screen in the conference room. “The VS doesn’t film inside the quarters, but here we see him stepping out into the corridor and we can follow him on his way to the mess hall.”

They all watched how Merlin hesitated at a corner or two, found the elevator, held his hand over the display and then dismounted at the right level. Usually, the elevator system worked with voice commands, the display system was just a back-up. How did Merlin do that? He hadn’t even touched the display?

The footage of the video system also showed that Merlin didn’t seem to be interested in anything other than finding the mess hall. He didn’t sneak around, he didn’t look at places that were off limits for him. 

“One track mind.” Gwaine laughed when Merlin finally entered the mess hall. “I need to have a drink with this guy.”

“You are not getting the alien drunk!” Morgana hissed. “We don’t know how his body reacts to alcohol and he just got back to health.”

“If his body is so much like ours, a little booze won’t hurt him.” Gwaine grinned and it looked like he already made a plan. 

It almost made Arthur smile to see Merlin looking around and then heading for the counter where they ordered his food last night. As his clothes alone clearly marked him as non-star fleet, people threw him looks. Some approached and that dark-skinned beauty from the engine room waved hi and helped Merlin through his ordering process. When she also sat down with him and tried to engage him in a conversation, Arthur frowned. 

“I strongly oppose letting him wander around on the ship on his own. He clearly memorized the way to the mess hall quickly. Who knows what else he can memorize?” Leon looked from the screen back to Arthur. 

Arthur took a deep breath. He hated to do this, but his crew was right. As long as they didn’t know anything about Merlin, they couldn’t throw all caution to the wind. “Track him.”

Lance nodded. “Aye, Sir.” Then he looked back at the screen. “The entire time?”

“24/7. We need to be able to see what he is doing at any given moment until we know we can trust him.” Arthur knew he already trusted Merlin way too much. He was the captain, he was responsible for the entire crew of 780. He could not put their lives in danger. 

It felt wrong, though.


	3. Chapter 3

Some days had passed and Arthur postponed replying to the messages from star fleet. He would not bring Merlin to Earth to have him examined or interrogated. Those orders were crazy. They were peaceful and so far Merlin hadn’t shown any signs that he wasn’t grateful and had malicious intentions. Hadn’t they all set out into space wanting to make friends and allies? 

Merlin was mostly in his quarters and it looked like he was meditating or maybe still healing, who knew? He had done little more than to go to the mess hall when he was hungry and the crew had gotten used to the sight of him and most of them didn’t pay him much attention. 

Arthur had given Merlin a bigger tour of the ship, so Merlin would find back to his quarters in case he got lost on one of his trips for food. Which was unlikely to happen, but it was better to show Merlin around than letting him go on his own. The thing that he would never admit freely was that he enjoyed Merlin’s company immensely. It wasn’t the monologues Arthur held to fill the silence and of which he didn’t know if Merlin understood a word, nor the bumbling tries in finding a common way to communicate – even though these led to a lot of laughter and he liked Merlin’s laugh. It touched something inside him and made him act more…more like himself. Like he didn’t carry the burden of almost 800 lives in his hands, carefree, just enjoying the moment. He hadn’t felt like that in a long time. 

“Hello.”

Arthur had heard the bridge doors open, but hadn’t bothered to look around to see who was entering, assuming it was one of his officers. This voice, dark and melodic, was familiar and yet strange in this environment. 

“Merlin!”

Merlin just stood there and seemed to be unsure of what to do. He looked out of place in his royal blue t-shirt and the red scarf. Everybody looked at him. 

“Hello, Merlin.” Mithian was the first to regain her ability to speak. “I’m Mithian, my friends call me Mithy and I’m the ship’s communication officer. We should have talked sooner.”

Merlin looked at her with polite interest. 

“That was probably a bit too much.” She laughed and then pointed at herself. “Mithy.”

Merlin nodded and pointed at his chest. “Merlin.”

Arthur grinned. That was something Merlin had understood. 

Pointing at Percy, Merlin said “Percy.” And then repeated it with Arthur. 

Gwaine jumped up. “I’m Gwaine. Hi!”

“Hello, Imgwainehi.” Merlin said, looking rather proud of himself before everyone started laughing, which seem to confuse him. He scratched the back of his neck and shrugged, an uncertain look on his face. 

Arthur went over to him. “Gwaine,” he pointed, “Mithy”, “Leon”

It seemed to dawn on Merlin that Gwaine hadn’t given him his name but said other things, too, which he had mingled into one word, thinking the full thing was Gwaine’s name and he grinned. “Gwaine”. He repeated the others’ names, too. 

Mithian turned in her chair again. “Captain, requesting permission to work with Merlin. It can’t be easy to be in a new environment, unable to communicate.”

As much as Arthur longed to be able to speak with Merlin and not just at him and as much as he wanted to be the one to teach him, he knew that Mithian was right. She was a linguist, knew different dialects and languages and knew how to program the ship’s computer when it came to communications. If anyone on board could get through to Merlin’s language and find similarities to their own to teach either of them a bit of the other’s, it was her. He nodded courtly at her. “Granted.”

She got up and gestured for Merlin to follow her.

Merlin threw Arthur a look and when he smiled and nodded, he followed Mithian. 

“Sir,” Percy took a deep breath and blew it out in an almost-sigh. “We need to find out how he does it.”

“Nobody showed him the way to the bridge or did you? And how was he able to enter? The door doesn’t recognize him, he must have used the panel. But how? Is he fluent in our language and just plays dumb?” It burst out of Leon, who was usually calm and collected. 

Arthur shook his head. He hadn’t shown Merlin the way to the bridge and he had no idea how Merlin managed to open doors that needed to either be in synch with your biological signature or you needed to know the code. “Maybe we will know more once Mithian established some kind of communication with him.”

+++

It still felt as if Merlin didn’t pose a threat to them, but Arthur knew he had to be careful. He couldn’t let his emotions get in the way of his duty. It was like that all his life. He had a duty to fulfill. Either it was studying hard and earning good grades, graduating from the academy as one of the best in his year, making it up the ranks to get his own command in record time and now doing his best not to disappoint those who set his hopes in him to do great things on board the Camelot. 

There wasn’t much time for emotions and if he had taken it, they had been in the way of his career. As much as he liked to be admired for what he was doing and therefore did the best he could, it was rather lonely. He couldn’t fraternize with the crew, though, it wasn’t seemly. Once in a while, when they were on a planet, he could sneak off and find short-lived pleasure in the arms of a quick fling or someone he paid for their time. Lately, he had found it satisfied him less and less. He had settled on the thought that once he retired, he could go on the quest to find a partner. Before, everything was risky. 

And why did these thoughts conjure Merlin’s image in his mind anyways? Merlin was an alien, he knew nothing about him. But he wanted to find out. 

Arthur swiveled his chair around when he heard the door-bell ring, so it at least seemed as if he had been working. “Come in.” The actual old-fashioned door-bell sound was a gag gift from Gwaine for his last birthday but he found he liked it so he had kept it. 

The doors slid open.

“Merlin!” For a quick moment, Arthur pondered if his thoughts had drawn Merlin to his door, but he dismissed that right away. “What brings you here?” He gestured for Merlin to come in. 

With curious eyes, Merlin entered but instead of taking a seat in front of Arthur’s desk, he went over to the big windows and looked out into space. 

Arthur felt the urge to get up and stand next to him, to share this moment of marveling in the vastness and beauty of the universe, but this was Merlin’s moment. 

“Arthur.” Merlin still looked outside and Arthur smiled at the way Merlin said his name. It had been the first thing in their language that Merlin had said and it always ran down his spine like velvet. 

He waited and finally Merlin turned around. It felt as if he wanted to tell him something, so Arthur remained silent. 

“Thank you.”

Expecting it to be some kind of sign language or a drawing – they had communicated like that before – Arthur just stared at Merlin and then laughed in delight. Mithian had reported that Merlin made great progress and they had figured out a few things already, but he hadn’t expected Merlin to come here and try to say something in a language that was still foreign to him. 

“Merlin, this is great, but…for what?”

“Me rescu.”

Alright, the progress wasn’t enough for proper sentences, but Merlin and Mithian were only working together for a few days so far. 

“For…rescuing you?”

Merlin nodded. 

“Don’t mention it. We are happy to have you here.” At least he was happy. Life on board the Camelot had started to get a bit boring just as Merlin dropped into their lives. Now, every day was a new discovery. 

“Happy.” It felt as if Merlin tried a new word. 

“Yes, happy. It’s when…when you’re excited and feel good…” That probably didn’t make sense to Merlin either, but Arthur didn’t find a better way to explain. “Would you…like a drink?” He didn’t know why he said it, but somehow he couldn’t let Merlin leave already. Which he could do, of course, he wouldn’t keep him here if he wanted to be somewhere else, but he wanted to spend more time with him. 

“Tea?”

Either Mithian had taught him or he had picked it up in the mess hall. Arthur grinned. “Hot or iced?” He went over to the replicator. Looking back at Merlin, he saw the little confused look on his face and decided to order both. This way, Merlin could find out what he liked best. 

Merlin curiously tried both and they had laughed a lot finding out the meaning of the words ‘hot’ and ‘cold’, while Merlin tried to teach him the words in his own language. Arthur failed miserably in pronouncing them correctly which triggered quite a few giggles from Merlin. Hoping, he hadn’t said anything rude with his wrong pronunciation, Arthur laughed, too. He knew that languages had never been his strong side. 

After a while, they just sat on the sofa underneath the windows and looked outside in silence. It was a little luxury that Arthur allowed himself once in a while. The universe was beautiful. To see all the stars, imagining the planets and moons circling them made him feel humble and insignificant and at ease. When he felt Merlin had turned his head and looked at him, he smiled. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

He had no idea if Merlin understood the meaning of these words, but the man nodded.

“Nice.”


	4. Chapter 4

“With all due respect, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Arthur’s back was rigid and he knew he should be seated to not show how he was feeling.

“Captain Pendragon, you have found a life form that we haven’t encountered before. You need to bring it to the nearest station that is equipped with the technology to examine the life form.”

Arthur looked straight back. “Admiral Pendragon, the Camelot is the only facility that is equipped well enough to study Merlin in this sector.” He hoped it didn’t show that he cringed. He knew that he was acting on some kind of weird impulse or emotion or some other thing that had no place in his decision-making, but he wouldn’t hand over Merlin like a piece of scientific study material to anyone. 

His father looked at him for a moment and he knew that he was right. “Alright. Your mission is important. Take your freight to Casselia as intended. A ship will meet you there to bring the life form back to Earth.”

No. This couldn’t be happening, he wouldn’t allow it. “Admiral,” Arthur knew he couldn’t address his father as anything else at the moment. The old man was stubborn and if he opposed him right now, he would probably never see Merlin again. He stood a bit straighter. “May I voice my concern about this?”

He saw that his father started losing his patience. “What is it, Arthur?” That he now addressed him by his first name wasn’t a good sign.

“We have not yet discovered any contamination. Merlin might carry diseases that our scanners haven’t detected yet and that need more time to incubate. Is it wise to put the entire crew of yet another ship in danger by transporting Merlin back to Earth on another ship? And then endangering the population of the entire planet?”

Even though his father clearly wasn’t happy with the turn of this discussion, Arthur knew he had a good point. 

“What are you suggesting?”

“That we continue on our mission the way it was planned,” Arthur knew they had a few other jobs lined up. “And then take Merlin to Earth ourselves.” At the moment, he had no intention of doing that and hoped, by the time they were done with everything they were supposed to, they had found out so much about Merlin that they didn’t want to dissect him back on Earth. 

Anyone who didn’t know Uther Pendragon might have thought that he was the most stoic person while on duty. Arthur knew better and he could see the wheels turning in his father’s head, fighting against giving him the direct order to give up Merlin and knowing that Arthur was right. 

“Alright. You will be in charge of the life form and Morgana will run all the tests she can. Once you are done with your tasks, you will return to Earth as quickly as possible, is that understood?”

Arthur nodded. “This ship is fast, but we still can’t do the Kessel run in 12 parsecs.” He failed in biting back a grin. 

The look on his father’s face showed very clearly that he didn’t appreciate this ancient joke that was still popular amongst the pilots of star fleet before he ended the transmission. 

Standing at the same spot in the conference room for a while, Arthur knew that he had won this battle. But the war was not over. 

+++

Percy could be intimidating. Arthur knew that he managed to handle situations just by his height and the way he was built. Sometimes he didn’t even have to say anything and it amused Arthur to no end that his Head of Security was what they called a gentle giant. He was caring and looked out for the people around him. As such, he tried to solve the mystery that was Merlin opening doors just by hovering his hand over the adjacent panels and used his advantage in height and muscle mass to get information. 

“How do you do it?” 

Merlin didn’t seem to be fazed by the tall man at all. He held out his hand to the panel next to the door they were standing at and as before, the door just opened. 

“I need to know how this works,” Percy insisted. “We can’t let you wander around knowing that you can and will open anything on the entire ship. You will be confined to your quarters if you don’t tell us.”

Arthur stood to the side. He was just as curious as Percy, but didn’t appreciate the underlying threat. 

Merlin just looked at them and shrugged his shoulders. “Feel.”

He was a fast learner and in the past couple of days, he had picked up a lot of words and managed to communicate on a very basic level. Having just spoken to Mithian, Arthur knew that she thought she discovered similarities with a language that was long dead before mankind even set out into space. It was confusing. Men had set foot on the Earth’s moon in 1968, which was millenia ago. How could Merlin speak a language that was spoken on Earth hundreds of years before that? And if it was this language, how did it get from Earth onto a planet they hadn’t even discovered yet? 

“You feel the panel?” Percy looked confused.

Merlin nodded and grinned. “Easy.”

“It is easy for you to feel the panel?”

Nodding again, Merlin held out his hand again and the door closed. 

Percy huffed. “We need to change all the security settings, Sir. Maybe find a way to redo them in no particular order. If Merlin somehow feels the code to one door and memorizes it, it would be no use to him anymore, he would need to find it out anew every time he tries.”

Arthur looked from Merlin to Percy and then nodded once. “Do it.” He had a feeling that this wouldn’t keep Merlin from getting wherever he wanted to go but they would have on protocol that they did everything they could. 

Merlin just smiled at him and he smiled back. 

+++

It would become easier to find out what Merlin wanted once they could communicate with him properly. Arthur was delighted when Mithian reported progress after progress and in the matter of a few weeks, Merlin could hold simple conversations and tried to speak in full sentences, much faster than anyone on the ship would be able to learn a language. 

Somehow, he had figured out how to use the ship’s communication screens and used it to leave adorable messages. Arthur knew he wasn’t the only one to wake up to find a little message of Merlin beaming at him from the screen, holding up a cup of steaming tea and simply saying “Good morning.” He was the only one who got the messages so frequently. Whenever Merlin discovered something he liked, he felt the need to show Arthur and it didn’t matter if it was a blueberry pie or Ensign Duken’s little pet mongrel that she was allowed to bring on board. Even though it interrupted what he was doing a lot and was distracting at times, Arthur found he didn’t mind and that he was looking forward to what Merlin would discover next. 

He still didn’t give any signs that he tried to get information that was classified, hadn’t asked about the cargo they were carrying or wanted to know about their technology. Maybe he already knew, just by ‘feeling’ the ship’s computer? 

“Arthur?” His monitor came to life just as he had gotten up. It was usually a bad time of day to message him with unimportant things, but hearing Merlin’s voice made him smile. 

“Good morning, Merlin.” It was a bit too late to realize that he was just wearing his boxers and an old t-shirt of his favorite sports team that had seen better days. 

“Good morning.” Merlin beamed. “Have you sleep good?”

“I slept well, thank you. How about you?”

Merlin nodded. “Sleep good, too.” 

There was a little pause and Arthur couldn’t hold back the grin. “Is that what you called me about?” It would have been a very Merlin-thing to do to call people this early in the morning just to inquire if they slept well. 

“I is hungry. Come to breakfast?”

Arthur swallowed. Merlin didn’t have any issues finding the mess hall from day one and he went there to get meals at all times of the day on his own. 

“You want to have breakfast with me?” A shiver ran down Arthur’s spine. Nobody had invited him to breakfast for ages. The skin on his neck started to tingle. Merlin wanted to spend time with him. 

“Yes. Is boring alone... Sibbi always there.” 

The face Merlin pulled made Arthur laugh. As he had watched the footage of Merlin wandering around the ship with Percy just the other night, he knew that ‘Sibbi’ was Ensign Sybille West, a tall blonde with enormous…no, he was the captain, he wasn’t even supposed to notice things like that. In the past days, whenever Merlin set foot into the mess hall – and he had gotten more and more careful, changing his times around – Ensign West was there to keep him company. Obviously she had taken a liking in Merlin which he didn’t reciprocate. 

“You need me to rescue you from her?” Arthur had a hard time not to giggle uncontrollably about that. It also warmed his heart that Merlin looked to him for protection. 

“Again.” The sigh that followed finally made Arthur crack up. 

“Give me a few minutes to get dressed and I’ll be there.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Captain, you better come see this.” 

Arthur stopped the treadmill, alarmed. “What is it?”

Wiping the sweat off his face with the towel he had hanging around his neck, he stepped off the evil device. Couldn’t they have found something else to keep you in shape by now? Like…a relaxing evening on the couch and you got up again fitter than ever? But no, they had to develop treadmills further. To ‘give you the genuine feel of an earth run’. Yeah, whatever. 

Gwen Smith, who worked in the engine room, piped up again. “It’s Lieutenant Greene and Merlin…they’re…”

She didn’t get further before Arthur had reached the door. “Where?”

“Seven below.”

Arthur groaned as he ran down the corridor. That the crew members he passed threw him weird looks didn’t matter. He needed to find out what Gwaine had done to Merlin. 

When he finally entered Seven Below, as their bar section was called as it was seven decks below the living quarters, he expected there to be a fight or at least Gwaine dancing half-naked on a table – that had happened before. It was loud and there was music playing but there seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. 

Gwen approached him. “Captain!”

“What is it, Lt. Smith?” He was still breathing a bit faster from all the running he had done. Probably he should work out a bit harder on his trusty treadmill.

“I didn’t think much of it at first, but…” She made her way through the crowd and obviously expected him to follow. “Then I thought I should inform you. We don’t know what happens to him.”

None of this made sense until the crowd noticed him and made way to the sight of Gwaine and Merlin at a table in the corner, lots of shot glasses in front of them and Gwaine telling one of his stories to a Merlin who just looked dazed but didn’t really react. He nodded once in a while, as if he understood Gwaine’s tale, which got bigger each time Gwaine told it. Arthur knew, he had been on the receiving end of Gwaine’s narrations quite a few times. 

“Thank you, Lt. Smith.” Arthur took a deep breath and stepped up to the table. He reached for Merlin’s wrist as he was reaching for yet another colourful shot. “I think you’ve had enough, Merlin.”

“But Arthur...” Gwaine slurred. “He needs to hear the rest of the story.”

“He does not. Story-time is over.”

“Spoilsport.” Gwaine muttered and downed yet another shot. 

Merlin just looked at where Arthur held his wrist and then lifted his eyes. He looked as if he saw Arthur for the very first time. 

“We’re going to talk about this tomorrow, Lieutenant.” Arthur’s voice was icy and he didn’t even look at Gwaine. “Come on, Merlin, let’s take you back to your quarters.”

“Boring there.” Merlin slurred even worse than Gwaine. 

“You will appreciate the quiet peacefulness of your boring quarters tomorrow morning, trust me.” Arthur pulled Merlin up and put his arm around his own shoulder, so he could reach around his waist to steer him out of Seven Below. It was easier said than done as Merlin had no intention of cooperating. 

“Smith, get Lt. Cmdr. Dr. Pendragon to Merlin’s quarters.” He pressed out through gritted teeth. 

Merlin hickuped. “Morga.”

“Morgana, yes. Come on, Merlin, you need to lie down.”

“No tired.” Merlin swayed and then decided to cling to Arthur. “You stay.”

“No, we’re not staying here, we go back to your quarters.” Arthur finally made it to the exit and declined several offers of help on the way. 

“You stay with me.” Merlin leaned his head on his shoulder, which didn’t make it easier to navigate down the corridor. 

“Yes, I will stay with you until Morgana is there.” And after that, he knew he wouldn’t be leaving Merlin in this state. 

Just as Arthur hauled Merlin onto the couch of the living room in his quarters, Morgana arrived. 

She rushed over, having her doctor’s overall just loosely tossed over her night gown. “I’m going to kill him. I am so going to kill him.”

“I think he’s suffering enough at the moment. Make him alright, I’ll have Mithy talk to him tomorrow.”

“Not Merlin. Gwaine. I’m going to kill Gwaine.” Morgana shot him a dark look and then pulled her med scanner out of the pocket. 

Arthur waited. They had no idea if alcohol was something that was known on Merlin’s planet and how he would react to it. With a bit of luck, he was just thoroughly drunk. Without it, he could be dead in not too long. The thought alone distressed him. They had gone through so much trouble to have Merlin with them and now he was going to die of alcohol poisoning? This couldn’t happen. “What can we do?”

Morgana sat back onto the coffee table. “I’d say you get a bucket,” she said dryly. 

+++

They had indeed needed the bucket as not long after Morgana’s diagnosis, Merlin’s body had decided to get rid of everything he had eaten that day. And maybe more. 

Arthur rolled his head from side to side and stretched. How came that he, the Captain of the ship, was holding Merlin’s hair as he threw up all night? Metaphorically speaking. Merlin’s dark hair was thick and lush, unruly and against any Union Star Fleet regulation, but it wasn’t long enough to get in the way when he heaved up all the colourful shots that Gwaine had made him drink. Which he did, and then some more. 

After Morgana had predicted a severe hangover and ordered him to immediately notify her of any changes in Merlin’s health condition, she had retreated again, yawning on her way out. Arthur had stayed. He was tired and definitely not fond of being in charge of a puking alien, but he couldn’t leave him alone either, so he kept a close eye on Merlin. 

Since that morning he had called him and wanted to have breakfast with him, they had spent quite a bit of time together. First, Arthur had thought it was to ward Ensign West away, but Merlin seemed to want to be around him and he didn’t mind at all. That Gwaine had gone and acted against a direct order made him angry. Oh well, it probably wasn’t an order, but what was not to understand when Morgana said “Don’t get the alien drunk?”

It was just so easy to forget that Merlin was an alien. Aside from his ears, he didn’t look any different than them. Morgana had been running a lot of tests and had just sent a report back to Earth that Merlin shared more DNA with them than the closest relative from the animal world. Arthur had never seen the alien side of Merlin, whatever that side was. It was still strange how he could communicate with the ship’s computer and wonderful how fast he was learning the language, sometimes just by listening to others talk, but they still hadn’t seen his full potential. What else can you do, Merlin?

Merlin moaned a bit and tried to get more comfortable on the couch. When he opened one eye, Arthur almost laughed. He clearly looked like he had the worst hangover in the universe. “Hi.”

Closing his eyes again, Merlin let out a breath. “Loud,” he whispered. 

Arthur watched a bit longer. It didn’t look as if Merlin’s alien DNA mutated or freaked out, but he didn’t know what the alcohol was doing to Merlin. It might have effects nobody on the ship could ever imagine. “Do you have a headache?” He whispered.

“Mmm.”

“Do you want some painkillers?” Morgana hadn’t been delighted when he demanded she left some with them as they didn’t know what they would do to Merlin. 

Merlin slowly sat up, his eyes still closed as if to make the world stop turning and then said something in his own language. 

Arthur waited for an attempt at an explanation, but nothing came. “I don’t know what you are saying, Merlin, help me?”

Repeating the word, Merlin tried to open his eyes. “Where my things?”

Having jumped up even before Merlin asked that, Arthur was already at the communicator screen. “Mithian?”

She appeared right away. “Captain?” If she was surprised to see him still in his once-sweaty work-out clothes, she didn’t show it. 

“I am certain you have heard about the situation with Merlin. He said a word in his language that I can’t understand, he’s asking for his things. If we knew what exactly he is looking for…”

“What’s the word?”

Turning back to Merlin, Arthur tried to catch his gaze. “Merlin, would you repeat what you just said?”

Merlin lifted his head, looked at the screen and repeated the word. 

“Running it through the computer, Sir.” Mithian was silent for a moment, looking at another screen. “It seems that he said…leaves? Or herbs? The computer isn’t very specific on that.”

“So we’re looking at some leaves that might be used as herbs…that’s a start. Thank you, Mithian.”

He turned back to Merlin. “Do you think you can make it down to the cargo hold?”

Rubbing his temples, Merlin felt around on the floor for his boots with his toes. “I try.”

+++

Merlin smiled at him and seemed to be back. 

It had been difficult to navigate Merlin through the very well-lit corridors and prevent him from getting sick again in the elevators. They made it to the storage room in which they had locked up all of Merlin’s personal belongings. It wasn’t much and sometimes Arthur thought that they probably hadn’t been thorough enough to check if they really had everything that was removable from the small ship. 

Merlin seemed to lighten up a bit when he saw his things and slowly started to open one of the big boxes that didn’t have any visible locking mechanisms. He simply hovered his hand above the lid and it opened. 

Arthur tried not to be too curious to see what there was inside. The explorer in him was dying to find out if Merlin had anything along that was compatible with their technology or could boost it or maybe some things that could make them understand a bit better where Merlin came from and what it looked like there. And yet, these were Merlin’s only possessions, he would wait until he showed them. 

After a while, Merlin found a jar and stopped searching. Opening it, he took a leaf out that looked so normal that Arthur was almost disappointed. What if the world Merlin came from looked just like theirs? It would make sense as Merlin’s species had developed just like them. Similar surroundings usually led to similar results. 

Merlin put the leaf on his tongue and sat down on another crate. He didn’t chew, he didn’t even suck on it, it looked as if he just held it there and let it do its job. The colour came back to his cheeks, the dark circles underneath his eyes vanished and he stopped holding his stomach. It didn’t take long until he smiled at Arthur again. 

“Feeling better?”

Nodding, Merlin said “Yes.”

As happy as he was that Merlin wasn’t suffering from the effects of too much hard liquor anymore, he was interested in how that worked. “What is this?” He pointed to the jar. 

Merlin repeated the word he had used before. “Helps when you sick.”

“Just like that? You didn’t even eat it.”

Carefully, Merlin took another leaf out of the jar and held it out to Arthur. “Go to Morgana. She doctor.”

“Why don’t we both take it to Morgana so she can try to find out how this works?”

Merlin nodded, but didn’t move. He only padded the spot next to him on the big crate. “Sit you here.”

Not sure what Merlin wanted from him, Arthur obeyed. When he was seated, Merlin leaned his head against his shoulder. 

“Thank you for be there when I sick.”

Arthur couldn’t resist to reach over and squeeze Merlin’s hand. “Any time, Merlin. Any time.”


	6. Chapter 6

He had a word with Gwaine the next day, knowing that Gwaine didn’t have Merlin’s miracle cure and was still quite hungover. Arthur didn’t care; it had been reckless to get Merlin drunk and Gwaine needed to be put in his place. He kept a low profile after that for a while. 

Morgana had been delighted when Merlin brought her the leaf and had immediately started lots of complicated tests to find out how it worked and if it could remedy human illnesses as well. 

“What is it, Merlin?” Arthur looked up, smiling, when he heard Merlin entering his office. Merlin could just open any door he wanted but for his office, he had used the doorbell until Arthur assured him it was alright to come in. 

It was amusing to see Merlin assuming a formal stance, his back straight, his hands behind his back, but Arthur bit back the grin. Merlin had seen everyone do that in front of him before, especially when they wanted to tell him or request something from him. 

“Asking permission to…” Merlin started. 

He was a fast learner, having heard that beginning of a sentence around the ship and knowing how to use it. 

“Yes?”

“Go to my things.”

Arthur blinked. “Go to your things?”

“Yes, go where boxes are. Like…when I sick, we go and find…” He used the word for the leaf he had put in his mouth again. 

“Granted.” Arthur nodded as he would at any other crew member. It was only natural that Merlin wanted to have access to his personal belongings. “If you need help transporting things to your quarters, let me know.”

“Mordred…” Merlin was searching for the right words. “No allow me there.”

Arthur got up. “Tell me what happened.”

“I try go to find…” Another foreign word that made no sense to Arthur. “Mordred say no. Not go without crew.”

Maybe Mordred, who was in charge of the deck they had stored Merlin’s belongings on, was right. Merlin still hadn’t shown any signs that he was searching for information or trying to get access to classified technology, which didn’t mean he wasn’t looking or already had it. It was so easy to forget that Merlin wasn’t one of them. In the past weeks, he had very much become part of the crew. Well, Arthur corrected himself, probably not part of the crew, but a nice guest, someone who tagged along, almost like a mascot, liked by everyone. The captain inside him hated that one of his crew had to remind him of the security risk that still existed. 

“You know what? I’m going to talk to Mordred. Until then, when you want to get some of your things, message him before you leave your quarters and he can find someone to accompany you to the storage room. I will make sure that you will have your privacy once you’re in there.” 

That was the only compromise that Arthur could come up with on such short notice and Merlin seemed to like it as he smiled widely. Merlin’s smile was a sight to behold. His whole face lit up, his eyes crinkled up into adorable half-moons and the corners of his mouth tried to reach his ears. It was infectious and immediately lifted Arthur’s mood. 

“Thank you.” Merlin nodded curtly, as he had seen crew members do. “I go now, things go Morgana!” He said excitedly. 

When Arthur blinked, Merlin tried to explain. “Other…medicine in boxes. Morgana needs.”

Arthur knew that Merlin had been hanging out in sick bay quite a bit since he brought Morgana the leaf. If he had other herbs along that could cure more sicknesses without having to hammer the human body with shots or chemicals, that would be fantastic. It might be a scientific breakthrough if Morgana could study them all. That Merlin was so willingly giving them up, made Arthur smile. 

“I will let Mordred know that you are coming.”

+++

Arthur walked down the corridor, having taken the long route from the bridge to his quarters. He knew he could use the holo deck if he wanted to go for a walk in the woods or along the beach, but some days he just liked his walk through the ship. This way, he made himself visible to crew members he usually wasn’t in closer contact with and he had always made it clear that they could approach him when he was outside of his quarters. Even though they were all professionals and the best graduates from the academy, some were still too shy to make use of his open-door policy or didn’t deem their concerns important enough to go the official route. When he was out walking, he learned a lot by just listening or giving someone a friendly smile and a quick ‘hello’. 

Now, he stopped in his tracks when he heard a female giggle. 

“This was his third date for this week alone.”

A deep male voice answered. “Don’t call it that, it’s not a date!”

Arthur knew he shouldn’t be listening and just walk on, but something made him stand stock-still. 

“You listen to me, he’s got a thing for the alien.” The woman said. 

“No way. He’s just friendly to the guest. Merlin still is a guest on board the Camelot, the Captain is only being polite.”

“Polite enough to wait for him in the lounge and have dinner with him almost every night? You’re blind, they got something going.” She insisted. 

“How would you know? Merlin’s an alien. He might look like us, but he might be built completely different…there….”

Arthur swallowed, imagining exactly what the crew member meant by saying ‘…there’. 

“He isn’t.” She giggled. “Saundra from the med lab was there when he arrived. She said he’s quite big…and very human…”

Feeling the blush on his cheeks, Arthur didn’t know what to do. If he stepped in and thereby interrupted this unseemly conversation, he would reveal that he had listened in on it. Which wasn’t very seemly either. The least he could do was turn and walk away. 

“Really?” The man sounded interested. “Oh well, maybe he functions completely different from us. Size isn’t everything.”

The woman laughed. “You’re just jealous. If Merlin and the Captain are an item, let’s be happy for them.”

“How can you know that the Captain even swings that way?” The man laughed, too. 

“Have you ever seen him with someone? Female, I mean? Other than his sister and the bridge crew, he doesn’t hang out with females. He hardly ever hangs out with anyone at all, always keeping to himself.”

“That’s not a sign that he likes males.”

“It’s not a sign that he doesn’t like them either.”

“You’re having way too much fun thinking about this. And a dirty mind, too.” The man laughed. 

Arthur knew he should have stepped in. If the crew was openly talking about his sexual preferences, it was bad. Especially because they were right. It wasn’t only his position as the Captain that kept him from being with someone. It had been millennia since same-sex relationships were officially frowned upon. These days, on most planets, nobody blinked an eye about who loved who. It was just Union Star Fleet that was a bit old-fashioned. They didn’t officially prohibit it, but no officially gay officer had ever made it further up the ranks as they had been by the time they came out. It was always something that had disturbed Arthur, but he hadn’t come this far to let his sexuality get in the way. As so often before, he postponed anything relationship to after his retirement. 

And now the crew was gossiping about him and Merlin and he couldn’t deny that what he had with Merlin was the best friendship he had in a long time. He enjoyed Merlin’s company, his whole being felt lighter when Merlin smiled at him and even though they still had their difficulties when it came to communication, they had found a level of understanding. He was always interested in what Merlin had to say. 

Was what he was feeling for Merlin probably more? He still knew very little about him, so how could he fall in love? There, he thought it. Arthur knew that he should have panicked just thinking the words. Strangely, he didn’t.


	7. Chapter 7

“You have to stop treating him like a child!” Morgana glared at him in the meeting. 

“I am not…”

Arthur didn’t get any further as Morgana was on a roll. 

“He is far more intelligent than you pay him credit for. There is no need to coddle him like you do. He can put two and two together and decide for himself.”

“I never said I…”

“But you do.” She got up and started pacing. “The way he finds his way around the ship without being shown where to go and without getting lost? Clear sign that he has an excellent sense of navigation. The way he learns our language…Arthur, he makes less mistakes than some of the crew who grew up with the language! And then this.” She turned towards the screen and started a video sequence that showed Merlin watching her running tests and checking data. He said something, stepped up to the computer panel she was working at, pointed at a few things and then took over. “He corrected my calculations.”

It was obviously something that rattled her, but it was also a clear sign that Merlin understood what was going on and was intelligent enough to find and correct wrong data. 

“So he’s a math wiz.” Gwaine shrugged, slouching in his chair. 

“And good at biology.” Morgana glared at him. “He seems to have a vast knowledge of how we are built and where the differences between his race and us lie. And he’s able to put that knowledge together.”

“That he is good in one thing doesn’t mean he’s more intelligent than we are.” Gwaine started tapping an annoying rhythm on the table with his fingers. 

“Well, it at least means that he is more intelligent than _some of us_ are.” Morgana pointedly looked at Gwaine. 

Arthur would have loved to laugh at that, but he couldn’t. This was serious. He had always known that Merlin was clever and the way he ‘felt’ their computer system – however he was doing that – was a clear sign that technology wasn’t foreign to him. On the other hand, he seemed to have a huge knowledge about the herbs and leaves of his own planet, the way they acted and reacted on his own species and now helped Morgana find out how to use them on humans, too. He just couldn’t be dumb. His friendly nature and his interest in everything, the sometimes naïve questions he asked, could easily lead you into believing that he was inferior. He was not, Arthur knew. 

“Either this is a long and slow-cooking scheme to fool us all or he doesn’t really mean harm to us.” 

Arthur was surprised when it was Percy who said this. “What do you suggest?”

“We could try to loosen the tracking on him. In a way where we still know where he’s going and what he’s doing. To see if he changes his behaviour after that.” Percy mused.

Leon frowned. “As we found out, he has a way to feel our computer. He knows. He would know if you stopped tracking him and he would know if you tracked him differently. Would that make him change his behaviour? I don’t think so. I think he already has all the information he wanted, we could stop tracking him altogether. If he has malicious intentions, he will go through with them anyway.”

That was new. Usually Percy had voiced his concerns and would have loved locking Merlin up the entire time and Leon hadn’t been too fond of the idea of letting Merlin do his thing either. Then again, they both were right. Merlin could find information on the ship’s computer any time he wanted, they had tried everything in their might to prevent it, but Merlin didn’t even need to go around barriers or hack into systems. He just hovered his hand over the panel and _knew_ , so what difference did it make if they tracked him? 

“If he had malicious intentions,” Morgana pointed to the screen again that still showed Merlin at the display, “Would he help me with this?”

“It could be a scheme to change our DNA or something?”

Arthur had read all these points in messages from Union Star Fleet and it started to give him a headache. Rubbing his temple with two fingers, he looked around. “So what is it, you suggest? We’re back to square one, either lock him up with no access to anything or let him do whatever he wants.” He was tired of these discussions. “Maybe we should just be happy that he is of such a big help to our dear Doctor? That we might go down in history as the ship that brought cure to many illnesses that still exist? So far, Merlin showed no intention of doing anything else. We did not have to ask for the leaves he has along, he offered them. He explained what they do, he helps Morgana to apply his knowledge to the human body and warns when he sees a risk.”

Percy took a deep breath. “I know you always want to see the good in people, but…”

“No ‘but’, Percy, we will work to protocol here. The regulations clearly tell us to stay friendly unless an alien race is openly hostile to us.” That was a very loose interpretation of the regulations. “If Merlin can read the computer’s tracking data on him, what keeps him from manipulating it? Have we ever found him anywhere else than where the computer said he was?”

Leon and Percy shook their heads and Gwaine swivelled his chair from left to right again. 

“I do understand everyone’s concerns, but as you said, we have no reason to not lift the tracking. Do so.” Arthur knew it was the right thing to do. “Report any security breaches immediately. Dismissed.” They were still in compliance with the Union Star Fleet’s regulations like this and having given that command, Arthur knew, nobody could blame them if it didn’t turn out the way they hoped for. The way he hoped for. No matter how intelligent Merlin was, Arthur just couldn’t believe he didn’t want the best for everyone around him. But he was biased. 

+++

Merlin beamed when he saw him entering Seven Below. After that horrible hangover, Arthur thought that Merlin would stay away from Gwaine and the bar. It had turned out that he did neither. He didn’t blame Gwaine and he had tried quite a few of the alcoholic beverages the ship had to offer and now Arthur found him with an Ullarian whiskey. It was easy to tell by its rich purple colour. 

Arthur got himself a beer and joined Merlin. 

“Hello. How was your day?” Merlin smiled widely at him. 

“Same old, same old.” Arthur sipped his beer. “And yours?”

“I help Healer Morgana all day, sequencing. Now I be tired.”

“Rightfully so.” Arthur smiled. Merlin had taken to calling Morgana ‘healer’, it seemed to be the closest thing in his own language, and Morgana had not corrected him. 

“What do you do all day?”

“This and that.” Arthur shrugged. It had been a normal day on board the Camelot, as far as days here were normal. 

Merlin laughed. “Captain stuff?”

Arthur chuckled. “Yes, Captain stuff.” He had once used this expression when Merlin asked what he was doing. 

They sat in silence for a while and Arthur was aware of the glances some of the crew threw them. He didn’t mind them. He liked Merlin, liked spending time with him, so they should get used to it. 

Merlin sipped his whiskey.

“Do you like it?” Arthur motioned towards the glass with his chin. 

“It’s not bad.” 

“Do you have anything similar on your planet?”

Arthur watched Merlin’s whole face light up when he asked. 

Merlin nodded. “Is other colour, but yes. Strong stuff.” 

Stuff seemed to be one of Merlin’s new favorite words as it perfectly described everything he didn’t yet have the vocabulary for. 

“So you get drunk there, too?”

Merlin’s grin turned mischievous and he nodded. “We have…when there is a joy thing…we come together and sing and dance…”

“You have celebrations?”

“Is that the word? Yes, we have celebrations. Like…when child gets born…or…people…” Merlin frowned for a moment, searching for the right word. “When do stay together forever. Or when day of birth returns.”

“You celebrate all that? Birthdays, too?”

Merlin nodded. “Yes. It’s always…” He shrugged. “Nice.”

“So, when is your birthday?” Arthur knew the moment he asked it that he probably would not get a decent answer. 

Answering right away, Merlin smiled. Then he realized that it wouldn’t make any sense to Arthur. “First of the year.”

“You were born on the first day of the year?”

“Yes. But…day is longer on Ealdor. And year is longer, too.”

Arthur didn’t have to ask how Merlin figured that out. He had access to their computer and had probably done the calculations long ago. “So…how old would you be in Earth years?”

Merlin looked to the side quickly, before he started laughing. “Old. Very much old.”


	8. Chapter 8

Lance threw Merlin a look. They had all gotten used to him being on the bridge, but he had never looked at Lance’s displays so intensely. 

“What is it?”

Merlin didn’t react for a moment, but then he pointed. “Numbers are not right. Engine…stutters.”

Arthur’s eyebrow rose. “Lieutenant Du Lac?”

Lance checked his displays again and again. “I can’t find anything out of the ordinary. There are aberrations, but they are so minimal that they can be neglected. By no means this could be interpreted as the engine…” He threw Merlin a side-ways look. “Stuttering.”

“Engine room, this is Captain Pendragon. Status.” Arthur demanded. 

It didn’t take long before Lieutenant Smith’s voice came over the intercom of the ship. “Little fluctuations, Sir. Nothing to be….” 

Arthur got up as the ‘worried about’ didn’t come. “What’s going on?”

Merlin looked at Arthur. “I go to engine room.”

“What is it, Merlin? What did you detect?”

Merlin said a few things in his own language which Mithian tried to translate. 

“I don’t think we’ve ever had this issue before, Sir.”

“You think you can fix it?” Arthur addressed Merlin again, who nodded. “Then go.” When Merlin had left the bridge, Arthur spoke up again. “Engine room? Gwen, do you hear me? What’s going on down there?”

The communication system came to life again. “Sir, it’s nothing we’ve ever seen before. We don’t know what it’s going to develop into, we’re trying everything we can.” Smith said and by the tone of her voice, it was clear that she was busy with other things. 

“Merlin’s on the way.”

“I don’t need an apprentice right now!” She shouted. “I don’t have time for that!”

She was usually calm and collected, so this outbreak worried Arthur more than anything that happened before. “He said he can help. Let him.”

Other than demanding status updates from the engine room and getting constant info from his navigation officer, Arthur knew he couldn’t do much. He needed to remain on the bridge and not show that he was more than just a little concerned. If he started running through the ship to the engine room, he would not only be in the way, he would also give the crew a reason to panic and a panicked crew was never a good thing. 

After a long half hour, Lieutenant Smith’s voice came over the intercom again. “Captain? Everything is back under control.”

Everyone on the bridge let out the breath they had been holding. 

“Gwen, what was it?” 

“The way Merlin showed us, there were two minor….” Gwen went into a tirade of techno babble and after a while Arthur stopped trying to understand the details. 

“Send a report to Union Star Fleet. If this can happen on their newest ship, it might happen on others, too.”

“Aye, Sir.”

Arthur slumped into his captain’s chair and stared at the universe outside the screen. If it hadn’t been for Merlin, who detected this issue before any of them had even noticed, they all might be stardust already. 

+++

The crew on the bridge had applauded when Merlin showed up again, but he had just shrugged and made a dismissive gesture with his hand. Since then, he not only worked with Morgana in the lab, he also spent time with Lance and Gwen. 

They were all educated and trained, the best that Union Star Fleet had to offer, and yet, the alien they knew little about had saved them. 

Arthur looked up from his little screen on his desk in his office when he heard the door opening. “Merlin, come in.” He smiled, a little bit more formal than usually.

“Hello, Arthur.” 

The tech crew of the engine room had given Merlin one of their jumpsuits, so he wouldn’t get his clothes entangled anywhere. Merlin had accepted new things like t-shirts and jeans before, but always wore at least one part of his own clothes with them. He looked different in the jumpsuit, even though he still insisted on wearing his own boots and the ragged neckerchief. 

“Merlin,” Arthur got up. “We are all very grateful for what you did.”

“But?” 

It was almost comical that Merlin had picked up on the fact that there usually was a ‘but’. 

“We need to know how you do things like these. We need to know more about your planet and how you do things there. You gave us the impression that you lived in a more rural environment, maybe the woods and yet you are technologically so advanced that you can sense a problem in our engines before any of the people who are trained to do so, even notice.” Arthur tried to not let it sound like an accuse. It just was weird. Merlin seemed like the boy from a farm and all of a sudden, he pulled off a stunt like that. 

Merlin blinked his eyes and then shrugged. “On Ealdor, there is people that is one with the surroundings. We feel energy. In everything. Living or electronic.”

Arthur just looked. “What do you mean ‘they are one with the surroundings’?”

“Me show you.” Merlin smiled and sat down on the couch, patting the space next to him. 

Carefully, Arthur sat down. He had no idea what was about to come when Merlin took his face between his hands. His heartbeat sped up a little. They had spent a lot of time together and he tried to shove his crush on the Ealdorian aside as far as he could as Merlin had never shown any signs that he was anything but friendly. Feeling those long, strong fingers touching his face was exciting. 

“Shhh,” Merlin made, closed his eyes and came closer.

What was going on? What would happen now? Should he stop this attempt of…whatever Merlin was trying to do? Before Arthur could reach a decision, Merlin had touched their foreheads together.

“Shhh…you ready?” Merlin whispered.

Arthur closed his eyes and tried to calm down. Which was easier said than done, it was exciting having Merlin so close. 

And then he gasped as images flooded his mind. Images of a planet with lots of nature, a settlement here or there, creatures that looked familiar and yet different and humanoids just like Merlin, going on about their lives. The settlements looked quite primitive, but….before Arthur could finish that thought, they were in a city. It looked like what he had seen in the history logs from millennia ago, but the people were building things, they had something that looked like an old car and… they were in the woods and there was a group of people and they….seemed to communicate with the trees, the grass, everything around them. 

“See?” He heard Merlin’s voice in his mind. “One with everything.”

Slowly, Merlin pulled back and Arthur gasped again when the connection broke. He didn’t know what to say. It was fantastic and a bit scary at the same time. The way they had worked together with everything that surrounded them…it was almost like magic. 

He cleared his throat when he felt that Merlin was looking at him expectantly. “This…this is astonishing. You can manipulate your surroundings by connecting to it.”

Merlin shook his head. “No. Not manipulate…feel it…heal it.”

“But…this all looked so…as if your society was built on agriculture.”

A little frown showed on Merlin’s face. 

“It looked as if you were farmers.”

“We make technology, too. We build a space ship.”

“So Ealdorians built the ship we found you on?”

“Yes!”

“Then,” Arthur knew he probably shouldn’t ask that. “Why didn’t you…heal…your own ship?”

Merlin’s face fell. “I tried. I didn’t have parts to replace, no stuff to work with. We almost failed.”

Arthur nodded, trying to bite back a little grin. Even though his language skills were fantastic by now, Merlin still liked to use the word ‘stuff’.

“I understand. But…you used that force you just showed me to feel that our engines didn’t work the way they should?”

Smiling widely, Merlin nodded. “Camelot is a lot more complicated than my ship. But she understanding me. And showed me that she are sick. Showed me where.”

The Camelot was a sturdy ship and his pride and joy, but it had never communicated with any of them. 

“And you knew what to do.”

“I felt…how to fix…stuff.” Merlin shrugged. 

“So you…fixed…stuff,” Arthur was still a bit rattled about that confession. He had no idea how to describe it other than with ‘magic’. “And saved us all.”

Merlin shrugged again and grinned. “Saves my own arse, too.”


	9. Chapter 9

Arthur went to the bar to get himself a drink. He had talked about what Merlin had shown him to Morgana and some others of the bridge crew. None of them had found an explanation on how Merlin had done this, but they all agreed that it felt like magic. Merlin hadn’t felt the need to explain it more and seemed to find questions about the how confusing. Maybe everyone on Ealdor had these powers and they were so normal to Merlin that he didn’t even think about it?

When Arthur neared the big table, he heard Gwen giggle as Gwaine asked “How many girlfriends do you have, Merlin? You must have something like that on Ealdor, too, right?”

It was clear that they all had been sitting there for quite some time and this wasn’t the first beer Gwaine held in his hand that day. 

Merlin grinned. “No girlfriends.”

“Oh, come on, a handsome fella like you? I don’t believe you!” Gwaine laughed. 

“Leave him alone, Gwaine.” Gwen shook her head but giggled. 

Merlin shook his head fiercely. “No girlfriend.”

“Oh, I know!” Morgana nodded. “You are married.”

Merlin’s grin faltered a bit. “No. Not staying with someone for life.”

“Leave the man alone!” Percy set his glass down with a bit more force than necessary. After the incident with the engine, Percy had changed his hostile attitude towards Merlin and they got along well. “Don’t you see it’s a sore spot?”

“What do you know?” Gwen mused. “Maybe it’s not like that on Ealdor and Merlin doesn’t even know what it is like to have a girlfriend because they don’t need that on his planet.”

“A species that has no sex? How sad.” Gwaine took a long drag out of his glass. “Oh, no, wait, I got it! You don’t even have girls there. You come from a planet with all males!”

Merlin blushed a bit. “We has girls!”

“Maybe he just doesn’t like them that way.” Morgana leaned back, all content with her theory. 

Arthur cleared his throat. “Could we all stop tormenting Merlin now?” He pulled up a chair and sat down, hoping that the light blush on his face wasn’t visible and trying to appear as if he wasn’t interested in the topic. 

“See, Arthur wants to know, too.” Morgana grinned. 

He couldn’t object. Of course he wanted to know. He was dying to know if relationships were a thing on Ealdor and if Merlin had left someone back there who was waiting for him. And if that someone by any chance was male.

Merlin looked at Arthur and then back at his drink, the blush on his face deepening. 

Gwen and Percy exchanged glances. 

“Leave him alone or I will confine you to your quarters.” Even as he said it, Arthur knew it was ridiculous. 

The others started laughing.

“So you are going to ground us, Captain?” Morgana stuck her tongue out at him. 

“I am so going to, Doctor.” He wanted to return the gesture, but even here, at Seven Below, he was still the Captain. 

Gwen put her hand on Merlin’s forearm. “Don’t worry, Merlin, we’re just teasing you. Whoever you like, it’s okay. And if you don’t like anyone, it’s okay, too.”

+++

The sideways look Merlin had thrown him during that conversation haunted Arthur. Had Merlin looked at him because he liked him? Did he want to be more than just friends? 

For the next couple of days, Arthur had no time to imagine ways to find out. They were nearing their destination and had to deliver their freight. He had to meet up with the leaders of the planet, exchange pleasantries and bring greetings from Earth. That was the part of his job he hated most. Boring small-talk just to leave a good impression. It wasn’t as if this planet didn’t need the goods they delivered just as bad as they needed what they got in return. 

When he stepped off the shuttle after a long day, he sighed. He had hoped for an hour or two where he could have just walked through the city, breathing some normal air for once, exploring, watching the locals, but no, he had been in a stuffy hall, stuck in his dress uniform and tried to stay polite enough to the mayor’s weird wife, who had made eyes at him the entire day. Next time he had to do something like that, he would bring a fake wedding band. 

“Arthur!”

Turning around, Arthur blinked. Waving at him from the other end of the shuttle bay was…Merlin? Yes, it was definitely Merlin, but he was in baggy jeans, a striped t-shirt and was hiding his ears underneath a beanie that had seen better days. 

“What…what’s this about?” Even though he looked weird, the sight of Merlin immediately made Arthur feel better. 

“I was on planet!” Merlin beamed.

“You were what?” They had talked about it before and decided against taking Merlin to the surface. They all were used to him now, but in another environment he was sticking out like a sore thumb. 

“Healer Morgana took me.” The beam widened even more. “We were at…market. Big market…inside. They selled many…”

“Stuff?” Arthur tried to help out. He needed to have a word with Morgana. It was dangerous taking Merlin onto other planets. The people living there might not want to protect him and deliver him to Earth right away…if they didn’t want to examine him right there. 

“Stuff!” Merlin nodded. 

“Tell me all about the stuff after I got out of this uniform.” Arthur plucked at the band collar of his jacket. “This thing is killing me.”

Merlin tagged along on the way to his quarters and excitedly told him about the things he had seen. He only stopped in his tracks when he noticed that they were standing in Arthur’s living room. Carefully, he pulled something out of his baggy jeans and held it out to Arthur.

“What’s that?” Arthur already opened his jacket and was about to very unceremoniously kick off his shoes. 

“Bring you this.” Looking at him expectantly, Merlin stretched his arm a bit more. 

“You…brought me something from the planet?”

Nodding, Merlin still held it out until Arthur carefully took it. “Healer Morgana give me paper to buy stuff at market.”

Morgana had given Merlin money, so he could try things out at the market and Merlin had gone and spend it on a souvenir for him. Arthur swallowed. “You shouldn’t have. I’m sure Morgana wanted you to try different foods and get things for yourself.”

“I trieded foods. Cold foods, sweet foods,” Merlin made a face. “And yucky foods.”

Arthur chuckled. He could picture Merlin trying to eat his way through the market and try out all those flavours he wasn’t familiar with. Carefully, he unwrapped the little present and smiled. It was a small, plump bird, made out of some kind thermoreactive clay that changed colours when you touched it and made the bird move its little head and chirp. It was one of the typical souvenirs from the planet and kitschy as hell, but Arthur couldn’t stop smiling. 

“Thank you, Merlin.”

“You like? I thinked you can sit bird here,” he pointed next to Arthur’s work display. “So you is not alone when doing boring captain stuff.”

“That’s very nice of you, Merlin. Thank you.” As instructed, Arthur set the little figurine down carefully next to where the screen appeared when he was working. “It will always remind me of you.”

Merlin stood about a bit awkwardly, beaming, but obviously not knowing what to say. 

“Better go…give clothes back to Reldi.” He plucked at the shirt. 

So those were borrowed clothes. For a moment, Arthur had feared that Morgana had allowed Merlin to get them on the planet. 

“Try keep hat. I like hat.” Merlin pointed and then frowned when Arthur did. “You no like hat?”

“Err…not really, but if you are fond of it and Ensign Reldimere lets you keep it…” He shrugged. 

“You no like hat.” Merlin looked at him, clearly disappointed. “Why you no like hat?”

Before he could catch himself, Arthur smiled. “It hides your ears.”


	10. Chapter 10

Arthur sighed and turned to the other side. It had been a long and exhausting day and he should have been writing an even longer report about it back to Union Star Fleet, he knew, but that would have to wait, he needed some sleep. Just that he couldn’t sleep. The moment, he closed his eyes, he saw Merlin’s face when he told him he didn’t like the stupid beanie because it was hiding his ears. Very slowly, Merlin had pulled the beanie off his head and with a funny little motion, his ears had sprung back into place. Merlin had blushed deeply when he did it as if showing his ears was a very intimate act. His hair had been even more over the place than usual and he had shuffled his feet before he had mumbled something about ‘give back’ and then all but fled his quarters.

What had he done? Had he asked something that you just didn’t ask on Ealdor? Were Merlin’s ears different from those of his species and he was sensitive because of that? The look he had thrown him, though…it didn’t seem like he was shy about his ears, it felt like…Arthur couldn’t put a finger on it, almost like Merlin blushed because he had notices one of his features?

He knew he needed to relax, just forget about it for now and talk to Merlin the next day. He didn’t want any misunderstandings between them. 

Slowly, his eyes fell shut. 

“Arthur?” A low whisper in his mind. 

Arthur grumbled and turned to the other side. 

“Arthur?” The whisper was persistent. 

And in a voice Arthur knew so well by now. He sat up, maybe it was just all in his mind and would go away once he was awake. 

“Arthur.”

It sounded just like back when he was drawn to the healing tank by the voice all the time. 

“Merlin?”

“Come here, Arthur.”

Groaning, Arthur swung his legs over the edge of his bed. “Where is here?”

“Here.”

He was supposed to go on a scavenger hunt in the middle of the night? Yawning, he felt around for his track pants and decided against putting on a different t-shirt. 

Arthur was already two corridors down from his quarters when he noticed that he wasn’t even wearing shoes. Blinking and scratching the back of is neck, he hoped that he wouldn’t run into any of the crew on his way to…wherever he was going.

“Here.”

“Where is here? And why do I have to go there?” He mumbled.

“Here. Need to show you.”

It didn’t take long and he found himself in front of the holo deck. Merlin was in the holo deck? What was he doing there? Who showed him how to use it?

“Can I come in?” 

“Yes, come!”

The doors slid open and carefully, Arthur stepped in. His breath caught. He had no idea what he had imagined that Merlin could want from the holo deck, but this was fantastic. It looked like the world Merlin had shown him when they had touched foreheads that night. Merlin had created Ealdor!

Stepping out of the forest, Merlin smiled widely when he saw him. “You comed!”

Arthur almost chuckled. Did he have a choice? The connection they had from the day Merlin was brought onto this ship was strange, even a bit scary sometimes. There was something in Merlin, though, that he couldn’t deny, couldn’t turn away from.

“Yes, I came. Merlin…” He looked around. “This is beautiful!”

“Is like…” Merlin seemed to search for the word. “Home.”

“I noticed.” Arthur smiled. “It looks like what you showed me.”

“Is better.” Merlin motioned to follow him as he turned and walked back into the woods. 

“I’m not even wearing shoes!” Arthur complained but followed anyway. It wasn’t Merlin’s fault that he had left his quarters barefoot. 

It wasn’t easy to follow Merlin. He seemed to be in his natural habitat and weaved in and out of the trees, running ahead to come back and urge him on. In the beginning, Arthur thought the forest floor would hurt is bare feet, but everything was soft underneath his soles and it felt good walking there.

“Come.” Merlin gestured impatiently.

“What is it, Merlin?” What was so important that Merlin was in such an excited hurry?

Finally, they broke through the woods and the soft grass land started. They were a bit up a hill and could look over miles and miles of beautiful hilly landscape. 

Merlin seemed to have reached where he wanted to go and sat down.

“This…you wanted to show me this?”

“Yes.” Merlin looked up and waited for Arthur to sit down next to him. 

“How did you do it? Who showed you how to use the holo deck?” And…how had Merlin been able to program it to this? There were plants the holo deck’s configurations didn’t know and creatures rustling in the underbrush nobody who ever used the deck had ever seen. 

Merlin smiled at him and shrugged. “Camelot showses me. She understand.”

Of course, Merlin had done this weird trick again where he communicated with the ship as if they were old friends. 

“You could have created this a while ago.”

“I knows.”

Arthur chuckled. “Why now?”

Merlin held his gaze for a moment and blushed before he turned his head to look at the hills in the distance. “You…so…always work, always Captain stuff…”

A bit unsure about what Merlin was trying to tell him, Arthur just waited.

“And then you like…” Merlin pulled his shoulders up and went all tense for a moment before he relaxed again. “Is not good.”

Arthur blinked. Merlin had created this world because…he was too tense and overworked lately? “You want me to relax?”

“Yes. You have must relax.”

“I do, but…”

Merlin shook his head. “You not sleeps good. You always do stuff. You no takes time for sits and…” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. 

For a moment, Arthur didn’t know what to say. Merlin was right, lately he was tense and couldn’t sleep for more than two hours before he woke up again, he tried to work on a way to not deliver Merlin to Earth and there were all the other duties he had to perform on this ship. It had been a year since he last had a few days of leave and it started to show. 

“You do with me.” Merlin pulled him out of his thoughts. He sat a bit more comfortably, closed his eyes and breathed very audibly.

“What are we doing?”

Merlin opened his eyes again and gestured. “You do with me.”

Arthur closed his eyes and tried to listen to Merlin’s breathing. It was difficult to focus on it, there were so many other sounds surrounding them. He had been brought up to be alert of everything going on around him, so it wasn’t easy for him to ignore the wind in the trees and the birds chirping. After a while, he felt his heartbeat slowing down a bit and his breaths getting deeper and more even, in synch with Merlin’s. 

He had no idea how much time had passed and he didn’t care either when Merlin carefully ended the meditation and brought him back into their surrounding. Which still looked like a wonderfully, peaceful planet. 

Arthur took a deep breath and notices Merlin watching him. “Thank you, that was just what I needed.”

Merlin’s smile widened. “Is good for…fresh head.”

“Yes, it is.” Arthur moved his head from side to side and for the first time in days, his neck made a cracking sound and then felt good again. Before, the muscle around it was so stiff that it wouldn’t give. 

“What is it?” 

Arthur looked over. “What is what?” 

“Here.” Merlin reached out and his fingers hovered only a fraction away from Arthur’s neck. 

“That’s my neck.” 

“I knows, but on neck. Skin…ow.”

Arthur reached up and felt the spot Merlin had found. “Oh, that. It’s nothing. Just that stupid uniform jacket chafing me. Whoever designed this never had to wear it for days on end.”

“No good.” Merlin looked concerned. 

“No, it’s not good, but don’t worry, it’ll go away.” Arthur tried to smile encouragingly, but Merlin still gave him side-ways looks. 

Then he felt Merlin moving closer and touching him with the tips of his fingers. Arthur knew he should pull back, he had no idea what was coming now. 

“Shh…I heal.” 

All of a sudden, the spot on Arthur’s neck tingled and he gasped. It was almost a if he could feel the irritated skin getting repaired. Was this another of Merlin’s tricks? Could he heal with just a touch?

“All good now.” Merlin smiled widely when he pulled his hand back. 

He didn’t move away.


	11. Chapter 11

“Captain?”

Arthur didn’t want to wake up and grumbled.

“Captain!”

The communication system spoke up again with a rather familiar voice. What else would come through there anyway? He knew everyone on the ship. 

“Arthur, damn, wake up already!” That was clearly Morgana. 

Arthur startled and sat up. Blinking, he tried to find out where he was. 

“Where are you?” His sister demanded. 

“The holo deck. What is it?” The last thing he remembered was sitting there with Merlin, looking out into the scenery, feeling very relaxed. Merlin had healed that little scrape on his neck and it still kind of tingled. Obviously, he had fallen asleep. Somehow on Merlin. That was awkward. 

Merlin looked at him, alarmed. 

“What are you doing in the holo deck at this time of day? Nevermind, come here, we need you in the conference room.”

Arthur scrambled up. “What is it? Why do you need me there?” He looked around for the exit when Merlin ended the program and the door was right in front of them. 

“Just come!”

Damn, that sounded urgent. He had no time to go back to his quarters to get dressed properly, he needed to go as he was. Hurrying down the corridors, he didn’t even notice that Merlin tagged along.

When the doors of the conference room slid open, Arthur stopped and blinked at the screens. Fuck. Couldn’t Morgana have told him that their father and Admiral Youngston demanded his presence? He would have gone to his quarters, at least shrugged a uniform top on and taken the call there. Now, not only the Admirals, but also his sister, first officer and head of security witnessed this. 

“Arthur,” his father looked him up and down. “So nice you could join us.”

Arthur knew it looked bad, but he stood a bit more at attention. He could radiate authority in just sweatpants and an old t-shirt, with his hair looking like he had just had the best nap of his life. Which was probably true, but they didn’t need to know.

“Admiral Youngston, Admiral Pendragon, what do we owe the pleasure of your call to?” Stay calm, Arthur, stay calm. 

Only when both Admirals had a slight moment of staring and Morgana turned her head to the side to not openly giggle, Arthur noticed that Merlin had come in with him and stood behind him, a bit to the side, mimicking his stance. Oh no, this was bad. He hadn’t planned to introduce Merlin to anyone else than his own crew like this, especially not the leading commanders of Union Star Fleet. Merlin wasn’t prepared, they hadn’t talked about this, he didn’t know what and what not to say. And on top of it, it looked as if they both had just climbed out of bed. The same bed. Arthur was fighting the blush on his face, knowing he was losing the battle. 

“So,” Admiral Youngston cleared his throat. “Is this the alien in question?”

How many aliens were there on board the Camelot? Morgana obviously thought the same thing because he could see her shoulders moving as she tried not to laugh out loud. 

“Yes, Sir, this is Merlin.”

Merlin, who had watched the scene with interest, looked a bit unsure and then smiled…and waved. “Hello.”

Seeing the look on his father’s face, Arthur knew that he was not taking that well. Admiral Youngston, on the other hand, smiled back and nodded. 

“Young man, we heard you did great things on the Camelot and we owe you thanks.”

No, nono, no. Arthur didn’t like the way this was turning.

Merlin just shrugged. 

“We would like to meet you here on Earth, so we can thank you in person.”

There it was. Please, Merlin, please don’t. Arthur’s thoughts were racing. This was clearly a trap. 

“No needs you thank me, Admalsir. Helped when Camelot was sick. That’s all.” Merlin’s smile had turned a lot more careful. 

“It speaks.” His father seemed thoroughly surprised. 

“’It’, my dear father, is a ‘he’ and his name is Merlin. He is a very quick learner and is capable of communicating quite well by now.” Morgana had stopped laughing when Admiral Youngston extended the thinly disguised ‘invitation’. 

Merlin sent Morgana a small, grateful smile. 

“I hear that.” Youngston took over again. “Again, we appreciate what you did. The data sent back to us is very useful in developing our ships further. We would like to have your input on a few things. So when you come to Earth…”

The admiral didn’t get further because Merlin shook his head. “You send data here. I can looks at it here. Captain Arthur have mission, deliver…stuff…and bring people. We on duty, can not go Earth now.” He shrugged. 

“We know about the mission, alien,” Uther said. “We gave him the mission. But as soon as you are done, you are coming here.”

Before anyone could hold him back, Merlin grinned widely at the screen. “Okay, want meet you, too, alien.”

“What did he just…” Uther barely stayed in his seat, Arthur saw exactly how he wanted to jump up. 

Not to laugh was the most difficult thing Arthur had done in a long time. That Merlin sometimes had a great sense of humour and could be quite cheeky was a thing they had found out long ago. That he openly used it against the leaders of Union Star Fleet while at the same time giving them this wide-eyed innocent look was brilliant. 

“You are as much an alien for him as he is for you, father.” Morgana stepped in. 

“Anyways,” Admiral Youngston spoke up, unable to hide a small smile himself. “You will not be assigned further tasks. Go on with your mission. When you are done with everything on your to-do-list, we expect you back on Earth.”

The screens switched over to the Star Fleet’s logo, the admiral had ended the call. 

Nobody spoke a word for a long while before Leon cleared his throat. “What are we going to do, Sir?”

Arthur took a deep breath. “Tell Gwaine to take the scenic route.”

+++

It would finally be his decision, Arthur knew, but he was also risking the careers of his entire crew if he openly ignored an order. 

“It just buys us more time, but we can’t avoid going back to Earth.” Leon took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. Usually, everyone would have been happy to go back to Earth to have a bit of time to visit friends and family. 

“I no want get cut up and poke.” Merlin looked really unhappy. 

“After all you did for us, they are not going to cut you up.” Percy sounded a lot surer than he looked. 

The discussion had been going back and forth, it was clear that nobody wanted to give Merlin up. Even though he probably didn’t understand certain behaviours yet, but he was part of the crew now. A valuable part, too, they could learn so much from him. They needed to postpone their visit to Earth long enough for Merlin to be accepted as an equal, even by Union Star Fleet. They needed to see what he could do and then, probably, would welcome him as a representative of his planet, instead of an object to study. 

Percy had left with Leon and Merlin, so it was only Morgana and him in the conference room.

“I admire your ability to lead meetings in track pants and a t-shirt, dearest brother.” Morgana grinned.

“Just one of my special talents. I’m the Captain, no matter what I wear.” He didn’t want to have this discussion with her. The situation had been awkward and it wouldn’t get better if she teased him about it. 

She leaned against the window sill, her arms crossed in front of her chest. “Enlighten me, what made you show up like this?” It was clear that she was biting back a smirk. 

He stared at her, his eyebrow slowly making its way towards his hairline. “If I remember it correctly, some kind of family member called me and made it clear that it was urgent.”

Morgana laughed. “That’s the fun part about it. But…come on, you show up with Merlin in tow, both of you look like you just woke up.”

“Maybe we did just wake up when you called?” The moment he said it, Arthur knew that it was a mistake and of course, Morgana’s face lit up. 

“So you finally did it.”

Blinking, Arthur tilted his head slightly. “Did what?”

“Oh, don’t give me that look, little brother. You and Merlin…you’ve been an item from the very first moment on.”

“We aren’t…we haven’t…” WHAT?????

“Come on, the way he always tags along, the way you always seek each other’s company…” She smiled. “Good for you, Arthur. It might have taken an alien for you to finally be a human, but I’m glad.”

“That’s…we’re not…” Arthur blinked again before he cleared his throat. “Merlin thought I needed to meditate, so he invited me to the holo deck and guided me through the meditation.”

“See, he cares for you.” She looked content. 

“He…probably just needed someone to meditate with. What do I know about Ealdorian customs?” Arthur crossed his arms in front of his chest. 

Morgana laughed. “You’re so blind. He cares for you. When we work together, every second word is ‘Captain Arthur’ or ‘Arthur’ or just…’Art’. When we were on that planet, he wanted to show you everything he discovered and it was difficult keeping him from using the communicators all the time. He doesn’t send everyone messages a couple of times a day or brings them gifts.”

“He…calls me ‘Art’?”

“Yes, sometimes he does.” Morgana’s face had a very soft expression. “Whatever it is you have, Arthur, don’t destroy it by overthinking it. I know you like him.”

“Of course I like him, everyone likes him!” Arthur felt the heat in his cheeks. 

“You like him a lot more than anyone else. I think his species is very close to ours. My theory is that either they came to Earth or they left Earth a long time ago and found a planet that is similar to Earth.”

“It’s beautiful.” Arthur couldn’t stop himself. Merlin had shown him what his world looked like twice now.

Morgana’s smile widened. “You’re the only one who saw it yet.” Her smile went away. “Do something, Arthur. I have no idea what courting rituals there are on his planet, he only gives evasive answers when I ask him, but if you really like him, show him.”

Arthur took a deep breath. “It’s not that easy.”

“Why not? Don’t make it more complicated than it is. Yes, you might run into problems, but why throw away a good thing without even trying?”

“I’m the Captain of this ship, Morgana, I have a responsibility for so many people.” Arthur knew that sounded hollow. 

“You have. But having a responsibility doesn’t mean you can’t be happy.” She came over, reached out and squeezed his shoulder before she left the conference room. 

What was he going to do?


	12. Chapter 12

The next days were busy planning the most complicated and long-winding routes to the places they were tasked to go. Gwaine had immediately voiced his ‘concerns’ about flying at maximum speed when he had heard about the little detours they would be taking, so Arthur had given orders to slow down considerably. He knew that wouldn’t go unnoticed, but they were so far out in the universe that nobody could do anything about it. It bought them time and they needed all the time they could get. 

Now, he was pacing his quarters nervously and plucked at the collar of his shirt, checking his looks in the mirror each time he passed it by. Merlin would be over any minute now. Which, in itself, wasn’t a reason to be nervous. Merlin had been here many times, sitting and chatting, making is way through all the different kinds of tea the replicators of the ship had to offer. Lately, they had started having movie nights and Merlin had a lot of fun with the old classics. 

Arthur was nervous because he had asked Merlin over for dinner. Usually, they met up in the mess hall for meals or in Seven Below for a snack. Tonight, they would have dinner in his quarters. Just to…see where things would lead. Arthur had blushed furiously when Morgana had ‘left’ condoms and a tube of lube on his desk. He wouldn’t need it tonight. He still didn’t know if Merlin liked him that way, but he intended to find it out. 

His door announced the arrival of Merlin and he went to open it. 

“Merlin!” He looked him up and down before he even noticed what he was doing. Merlin was in a rather similar outfit to his, a nice shirt – Merlin’s a dark red, his own white – and some well-fitting jeans. 

“What?” Merlin threw him a look.

Damn, that had taken too long, but Merlin looked fantastic in his new clothes. 

“It’s good seeing you, come on in.” As Merlin entered, he added, “You look good in these clothes.”

Merlin shuffled his feet a bit. “Mithy helps.” Then he frowned. “Helpded?”

“Helped.” Arthur offered. 

“Helped.” Merlin beamed. 

So either Merlin had picked up on this being a special evening or the others had pointed it out. 

“You even have new boots.”

Merlin looked down at them. “Camelot gived them me.”

“Mithian?”

“No, Camelot, she gived them me. Were in my room after you me asked here.” 

“She gave me,” Arthur corrected absent-mindedly. Merlin had asked him to do that a while ago. 

“Oh, you too?” Merlin kept a straight face for a moment before he laughed. 

Arthur laughed. “No, she didn’t give me new boots. She must like you very much.”

“Yes, and I like her.” Merlin looked around. 

Arthur cleared his throat. “Are you hungry?” He gestured towards the table that was set for two with the finest dishes and silverware the ship had to offer. He had even lit two candles.

“Always.” Merlin grinned. It was an open secret that he could and would eat at any time. He went over to the table. “Looks different as mess hall.” He slid into a chair. 

“I thought, we deserved a nice meal in a nicer environment than the mess hall.” Arthur brought over a bottle of wine he had found Merlin liked. 

“And no peoples to come talk to you.” Merlin accepted the glass and inhaled the scent of the wine as he did with many things. 

Bringing the entrée over, Arthur nodded. “You’re right, nobody will disturb us.”

Slowly, Arthur relaxed a bit. The initial awkwardness was over quickly and they talked about this and that like they always did. About things that were going on on the ship – it turned out that Merlin’s ears weren’t only pointy and sticking out, they were very good for picking up any gossip that was doing the rounds – to technical details to something Merlin had noticed. 

After the meal, they relocated to the big couch underneath the windows. 

“I like this.” Merlin smiled, sipped his wine and then set the glass down on the coffee table. 

“This?” Arthur brought the bottle over – their second one. 

“Good eating, nice…compy?”

“Company?”

Nodding, Merlin went on. “Nice company, good look at stars…”

“I like it, too. And…Merlin…” Arthur’s heartbeat sped up and he was even more nervous than at the beginning of the evening. “There’s…there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Merlin looked at him with interest.

“It’s just that I…I really like it…being here with you. I don’t know if you even have that concept on your planet, but…here…and on all the other planets…there are men…” Fuck, why was this so complicated? “Who like men.”

There was a little frown on Merlin’s face, but Arthur had to admit that this explanation came a bit sudden and came out totally weird. 

“And…I am one of these men. And…you don’t have to say anything now and I hope it doesn’t destroy our friendship, which I really value, but…” He took a deep breath. “I think I developed feelings for you.” There, he said it. It hadn’t come out the way he had practiced for days, but he hoped that Merlin would understand. And that he wouldn’t punch him in the face. Or just get up and leave.

For a moment, Merlin just looked at him and Arthur wondered if he needed to be more precise and explain a bit better what he meant, but then a small blush appeared on Merlin’s face and the corner’s of his mouth lifted into a shy smile. 

“You…like me?”

“Yes, Merlin. I do. Very much.”

“Like…Gwen like Lance?”

Arthur nodded. “As I said, I don’t know if it works differently on Ealdor and if you even…”

“I like you.” Merlin’s careful smile became a bit wider. 

His heart was beating faster. Merlin liked him, but… “Merlin, do you really understand what I mean? I like you like Gwen likes Lance.”

Merlin frowned for a moment. “You mean like…like…making babies and staying for rest of life, right?”

“Well,” Arthur swallowed. “I’m not sure two men of different species could make babies and I don’t know about the rest of our lives either, but I want to try.”

“We haves men liking men on Ealdor.”

Oh no, what had he done that Merlin went into an explanation about his planet now? 

“Me is one.”

“And,” disappointment hit Arthur like an anvil in those old cartoons, “You already have someone on your planet? Someone who is waiting for you?” He should have tried to find that out before his confession. 

Merlin shook his head. “I leaved Ealdor to find.” Merlin’s face was suddenly a lot closer. “I think I finds.” He smiled and then closed the space between them and pressed his lips against Arthur’s. 

Arthur gasped in surprise and then couldn’t stop smiling when Merlin pulled back. It was quick, it was almost chaste, but it was the best kiss he had ever gotten.

“Merlin, I…I don’t know how to court you. What do you do on Ealdor to show someone that you like them?”

“Oh, we go places…like in tavern…or go to woods, do breathing together…or tell stories…or watch screen.” Merlin carefully reached out and entwined their fingers. 

Arthur blinked. They had done all these things right from the first day Merlin was fit enough to leave his quarters. They had gone to the mess hall and Seven Below for meals and drinks, Merlin had taken him to the holo deck to meditate together, they told each other stories all the time and they had watched a lot of movies. Without him realizing it, Merlin had been courting him! He looked down at where their hands held each other. 

“What would you like to do now?”

“Watch the screen!” Merlin said immediately. 

He would have loved to kiss Merlin some more, his fingers were itching to explore Merlin’s body, but Merlin wanted to watch a film. If watching a movie made him happy, a movie it was.


	13. Chapter 13

It was like nobody even blinked an eye when they saw them together. The only thing that really had changed was that the unspoken barrier that had been between them, the longing and not knowing if it was appropriate, was finally gone. That first night, Arthur had been happy just sitting there, holding Merlin’s hand and watching him react to the movie until he felt Merlin’s head on his shoulder. It seemed like people on Ealdor took things a lot more slowly than on Earth. Even though Arthur would have loved to do more, he also liked the slow simmer of this.

Just the other night, he woke up in his bed and couldn’t remember how he’d gotten there. When he noticed that weight across his belly, he smiled. It seemed as if Merlin had somehow managed to get him from the couch into bed and then decided to stay. Arthur had watched him sleep for a moment before he had closed his eyes again. He could get used to waking up with Merlin. 

“So, did you finally get to third base with Merlin?” Gwaine had asked just this morning when Arthur had gone to grab a coffee at mess hall. 

No, he hadn’t, but he was willing to wait for Merlin. “None of your business.” Busying himself with the sugar and the cream that needed to be stirred very thoroughly today, Arthur wasn’t willing to have this discussion with Gwaine. 

“Not?” Gwaine’s eyebrow rose. “What’s wrong with you? First, it takes you weeks to figure it out, now you didn’t even have…”

“Gwaine!” Arthur glared at him. “Things are different on Ealdor. They need more time.”

The other man groaned playfully. “I’d have died of a bad case of blue balls already.”

“Gwaine!” Mithian had joined them. “That part of the Captain’s anatomy is hardly a topic for discussion.”

“Oh, it isn’t?” The pilot ran a hand through his longish hair – by no means in compliance with the Union Star Fleet regulations – and laughed. “Just listen to the corridor gossip. It is pretty much a topic for discussion.” 

Arthur cleared his throat. “Well, I’m glad they found a topic worth talking about.”

Mithian laughed. 

“Speaking of love life, how is yours?” Arthur tried to take the focus off himself. 

Leon stepped up to them and put an arm around Mithian’s shoulder. “I can’t complain, thanks for asking.”

Alright, Arthur smiled. He had thought that there was a tension between his two officers for quite a while now. It was good to see that his Number One had found someone and Leon and Mithian made quite the nice couple. “Send me an invite to the wedding.”

Gwaine laughed. “If you don’t speed up a bit, everyone on this ship will be married before you.”

Taking his mug, Arthur got up. “I got…”

“To propose to Merlin?” Mithian suggested and then giggled. 

“…some Captain-ing to do.” Arthur said firmly, but he felt the colour rise on his cheeks. 

“You better hurry up or I will do it.” Gwaine teased. 

+++

You better hurry up or I will do it. Arthur knew that Gwaine had said it in jest, but the sentence haunted him the entire day. He couldn’t allow anyone to snatch Merlin away from him. Especially not Gwaine. 

“Merlin?” Arthur stood in front of Merlin’s quarters. He didn’t even know if he was there. Morgana usually joked that they were joined at the hip and she wasn’t all that wrong. Since that night where he had stammered out a declaration of…affection, Merlin stood or walked a bit closer to him. 

The doors opened and Merlin beamed at him. “Arthur.”

“Can I come in?”

Merlin laughed. “Yes. You always can you come in.”

He stepped inside and looked around. The last time he’d been in these rooms was when he had taken Merlin there from sick bay after he had woken up. Things had changed quite a bit. The usually welcoming, but simple room was decorated with things Merlin had either brought up from the storage room or were things he had found on the ship that he liked. There was a weird mixture of jars with things Arthur didn’t recognize, random things form around the ship and a soft blanket that he knew was a gift from Gwen. Merlin had called him at 3 in the morning to show him. The entire room looked strange and had no concept, but it was unmistakably Merlin. 

“You me visit.” Merlin gestured towards the couch and went to the replicator to get two glasses of iced tea. He didn’t even need to tell the device what he wanted, he just hovered his hand over the display.

Arthur didn’t even flinch at that anymore. He still didn’t know how Merlin did it, but the way he could communicate with the ship was spectacular and had not only saved them once, but made things a lot easier. Before a fault could even occur, the Camelot seemed to tell him that something was off. Long before their scans could detect it, Merlin knew what to do or who to report to. Whenever he was on the bridge, Lance asked him to look over his numbers and Gwen liked his presence in the engine room. 

“Thank you.” He accepted the glass that Merlin held out to him.

“You haved a good day?” Merlin sat down and sipped his drink. 

“Busy. How was yours?”

“Nice.” Merlin went into a rambling explanation what he had helped Morgana with. Even if Merlin had been fluent in their language, it wouldn’t have made sense to Arthur, so he just let him talk. 

“Interesting.”

“Mhmm. Healer Morgana says to do more tests and then we sending data to Earth.” Merlin smiled. “Whats you busy of?”

“Oh, this and that.” Negotiations about landing rights, contacting the next planet they were approaching, things like that. 

“Captain stuff?”

Arthur chuckled. “Yes, Captain stuff.”

Merlin set down his glass, moved a bit closer and leaned his head on Arthur’s shoulder. “Want to go breathe?”

“Not today. Unless you want to. I’m good, don’t worry.”

“No. It good sit here with you.” Merlin moved his head a bit and nuzzled into his neck. 

Even though Merlin had done that before, Arthur shivered. He had no idea what to do. He wanted to kiss Merlin so badly, really kiss him, not that shy little peck on the lips he had gotten, he wanted to touch him, feel him, explore his skin and every piece of his body, but he had no idea of how welcome this would be. Didn’t Ealdorians have sex? What if they did something weird, like touching foreheads and just thinking about sex and that was it? 

“What wrong?” Merlin whispered. 

“Nothing.”

“Not nothing. You thinked of not nothing.”

Arthur swallowed. “Merlin…”

“Hmmm?”

“I thought…as we are…approaching Milderoo, we might go for a walk on the surface?” Fuck, you bloody chicken! Arthur scolded himself. He had not come here to ask Merlin for sex, Merlin took his time in everything he did, so it would happen eventually, but the urge had been so strong for a moment that he tried to…and failed. So he had asked Merlin to accompany him to the planet. 

Merlin’s face lit up. “We go to market, yes? Or to forest? Or…what it like on Mildoo?”

Arthur chuckled. “I have never been there before.”

“You no do Captain stuff on planet?”

“Just a bit. We’re only just delivering something. Usually, someone shuttles it down and then comes back again. Maybe we can sneak away for an hour or two and see what it looks like there?” He smiled. 

The radiant beam had returned to Merlin’s face. “I likes a lot.”


	14. Chapter 14

When they finally made it back to the Camelot, Arthur was tired and full of energy at the same time. He had always liked exploring new planets, seeing new places, finding out how similar or different the locals were. To share this experience with Merlin was even better. First, they had visited the main city of Milderoo and after admiring the sights, Merlin had dragged him to something that could be considered a street market where he wanted to try all the foods. At least it felt like it. 

He tried to get a new scarf for Merlin, but Merlin had insisted that his ragged, old neckerchief that clearly had seen better days was good enough. When he had shown interest in a wristband made out of the colour-changing leather of a local creature, Arthur had bought it for him. It was just a cheap trinket, but Merlin wore it as if it was the biggest diamond the universe could produce. 

In the afternoon, they had hiked up a large hill and just sat in a nice spot where they could look over the forest that enclosed the city. 

Arthur took a deep breath. He hadn’t felt so at ease in years and when Merlin turned his head and then leaned in and kissed him, his life was perfect. And boy, Merlin could kiss. It was soft and gentle and exploring and giving and taking. Arthur had never shared a kiss like this with anyone. It was as if his entire being was electrified. His body tingled and he wanted so much more, but they were out in public _and_ on a planet that wasn’t theirs. Who knew what the laws here were and what kind of diplomatic complications they might have caused? It had to wait until they were back on the Camelot. 

With a spring in his step, he made his way to the bridge. Of course, he trusted Leon, but he needed to know about everything that had happened while they were gone, hopefully hearing a ‘Nothing out of the ordinary’. 

“Oh, that is beautiful.” Mithian just admired Merlin’s new bracelet. 

“Captain Arthur gave me it.” 

Arthur couldn’t help the smile on his face. It was nothing, just a tiny little thing and Merlin acted as if he just got the best present in the world. 

“Leon, why didn’t you give me one of these?” Mithian teased. 

Looking over, with a fond smile on his face, Leon chuckled. “Because I had to hold down the fort here and couldn’t go on to the surface. Next time.”

“We could wait another day before he depart again, so you two could go?” 

Leon, who obviously hadn’t heard Arthur coming in, startled. “Captain!”

Shaking her head, Mithian once again looked at Merlin’s bracelet and threw him a smile. “Thank you, Sir, but there’s no need for that.”

It would have raised questions why they stayed yet another day after extending their stay already and both Mithian and Leon didn’t want to be the reason for that. Still, it seemed as if Mithian also didn’t want the same present because it was so precious to Merlin. It had to stay a one of a kind on the ship. 

Arthur went through the logs. “Anything I should know about?”

Leon shook his head. “Nothing out of the ordinary, Sir.”

“That’s what I wanted to hear. Gwaine? Set course for Grallafoy.” 

Gwaine turned his head. “The scenic route?”

“As always.”

+++

“Good night, Arthur.”

They had an almost excessive snogging session while they pretended to watch a movie and Arthur didn’t want to let Merlin go. 

“Stay?” He held on to Merlin’s hand while Merlin had already turned for the door. 

Merlin turned back and looked at him. “Not now.”

“Merlin, I…I don’t understand.” It had been a wonderful few days, they had spent all their free time together and sometimes Merlin had visited him on the bridge, so they hadn’t even been separate the entire time they were working. “I want you. All of you.”

Blushing crimson, a small smile showed on Merlin’s face. “We wait until moons are right.”

“That I don’t understand either.” Arthur gave an almost frustrated sounding chuckle. “What do you mean by that?”

“You me want to stay, I me want to stay with you, too. But moons have to be right…constellision.”

“Constellation.” Arthur corrected absent-mindedly. “What do you mean? Which moons? Does it affect you when you want to get it on with someone?”

“Moons of Ealdor. Have to be in the right places for important…stuff. Staying….”

Merlin’s little smile did things to Arthur that he would never be able to describe. Getting physical the first time with him was important to Merlin, he wanted it to be perfect. That sent shivers down Arthur’s spine. 

“When will the moons be in the right constellation? How do you know from here? We don’t even have Ealdor on our maps.” He didn’t want to sound impatient, but…yes, but!

“I knows. I call you when time is right.” Merlin put a small kiss on Arthur’s lips and then let go. “Good night, Arthur.”

When Merlin was out of the door, Arthur slumped down on the couch and groaned. He had been so close to finally getting what he wanted, but since it was so important to Merlin, he would wait. Just…how long would it take for the moons of Ealdor to be in the right position? Merlin had a different concept of time, it might be just around the corner for him, but it could be half an eternity for Arthur. 

+++

Arthur moaned. He had the most pleasant dream that featured Merlin and the things he would like to do to him or have done to himself. It was almost as if he felt the touched and the little kisses and licks Merlin put on him and his dick was standing at attention, twitching, waiting for Merlin to touch him there, too. 

“You so impatient.” Merlin grinned at him.

“I just want you, any way I can get you.” 

“Slow,” Merlin almost purred and Arthur knew he was in for some serious teasing before he would finally get what he wanted most. 

“Arthur!”

It seemed to come over the communication system of the ship and it unfortunately wasn’t Merlin’s voice. 

“Go away.” Arthur mumbled and turned to the other side, hoping he would just slip back into the dream.

“Arthur, you have to see this.”

Slowly, his hair all over the place, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed. This better be important. “What is it?”

“I don’t think we’ve ever seen one before.” It sounded as if Leon was in awe, which was a rare thing.

“Potential threat?” Arthur was looking for his uniform pants and his tired brain pondered if he could get away with just shrugging his jacket on. 

“Difficult to tell. There’s no attack yet, but…”

Whatever it was chose that exact moment to attack. The ship shook and immediately the alarms started to sound. Arthur had never been so awake in such a short time. At the academy they had drills like this and they all knew they were drills. This was the real thing. In record time, he was in his uniform and on his way to the bridge, running when he thought that nobody saw him, slowing down and nodding at crew members running by when he passed them. 

The doors to the bridge slid open. “What is…” For a moment, Arthur just started at the windows and blinked. 

“Captain, it came out of nowhere and just attacked!”

Leon pulled him out of his stupor. 

“Shields?”

“Up to the max.”

“Arms?”

“Ready. At your command.”

Arthur shook his head. They were a science ship, not a battle cruiser. Of course they had weapons, but he doubted they had a chance against THIS! “We need a maneuver to get away from this.”

His mind still couldn’t wrap around what he saw. It looked like…a…somewhere inside him, a small giggle wanted to bubble up…space dragon?

They took another blow. 

“Get us out of here,” he yelled at the pilot and was relieved when the bridge doors opened and Gwaine ran in, still doing his uniform jacket. “Gwaine, take over and get her to safety!”

They had run into quite a few weird things on their journey, but never anything they couldn’t negotiate with. 

“Mithian?”

Mithian hammered on her displays and shook her head. “No language that we ever heard of…but…wait…it sounds a lot like Merlin…and it sounds angry.”

Arthur’s mind was reeling. There were no real regulations to follow. There was a standard procedure and everything they had been dealing with so far had either been friendly or at least cautiously curious about them. They had never run into an angry space dragon.

At first, he barely registered that Merlin had entered the bridge. He was in sweatpants and a blue t-shirt, the ever-present neckerchief around his neck, but barefoot. 

“Merlin, it’s not a good time.”

Merlin said something in his own language. 

“Merlin, please, stay out of the way.”

But Merlin didn’t listen and stepped closer to the front screen, his eyes never leaving the creature, speaking in his own language.

Arthur ran towards him. If the creature started another attack and their shields wouldn’t hold, Merlin would be in grave danger where he was standing. Approaching him, Arthur noticed that Merlin’s eyes were glowing golden. 

“Sir, the creature…” Leon started. 

“Stopped its attacks, I notice. What is going on?”

“Me is talking to dragon.” Merlin said and then resumed his…conversation? with the creature. 

“Merlin, the creature can’t hear you. We tried to contact it, but it didn’t react.”

Turning his head a fraction, Merlin threw Arthur a reassuring smile. “I talks to dragons. This is dragon, too.”

A dragon. It was really a dragon…and…Merlin could talk to it? But…how? Fascinated, Arthur totally forgot to give any further orders as he watched and listened how Merlin first yelled a few things and then talked sternly at the screen….at the…dragon. None of this made sense. 

The dragon still didn’t seem to be happy, but at least it had stopped the attacks and just hovered before them in space. 

“Oh.” Merlin frowned at Arthur before he resumed his conversation with the dragon. 

Oh? OH?????? What was going on?

Finally, Merlin nodded and turned. “Talks Mordred, needs to open shuttle bay.”

“What for? What the hell is going on, Merlin?” The alarm was still blaring. “Defcon amber,” he ordered and the bright red flashing lights turned into a yellowish glow and the sounds that made your ears ring stopped. 

“Come.” Merlin gestured, impatiently.

“I can’t leave the bridge now, what is this, Merlin?” Arthur stared at him open-mouthed. 

“Is dragon. I talks to dragons. Dragon is mama. Camelot hurt her baby. Mama is angry.”

For a moment, Arthur blinked in just the same way the rest of the bridge crew did. It would have been comical if the news wasn’t that weird. “You…talk to dragons?”

“Yes, I am dragon lord.” Merlin looked from one to the other as if this wasn’t big news. 

“A…dragon lord.” Arthur hadn’t even been aware of the existence of anything like dragon lords. Heck, he hadn’t believed that dragons were real until a few minutes ago. 

Merlin nodded. “Tells Mordred, must open shuttle bay.”

“And…what exactly for?” It seemed as if Merlin had a plan, but before he gave an order like this and made the Camelot even more vulnerable to attacks of the creature, he needed to be convinced. 

Looking at Arthur as if he had just asked the dumbest thing in the universe, Merlin frowned slightly. “I heal baby. Baby need go to shuttle bay, I can’t go out.” He turned to leave.

“Wait! Wait, wait, what? You told the…” Arthur threw a look at the creature “…dragon that you would heal her baby? In OUR shuttle bay? How do you even know how to do this? And why would she allow it? And how do we know she won’t attack again?”

Merlin rolled his eyes. “I am dragon lord. Dragon do what I says. She stay close and watch, but baby needs to go shuttle bay.”

Arthur threw Percy a side-ways look, but the big man just shrugged.

“Mordred,” Arthur addressed the communication system.

It only took Mordred seconds to reply. “Sir?”

“This might sound strange. But open the shuttle bay, we need to take care of a baby dragon.”

“A…what?” Mordred sounded just like they all felt. 

“Let it in, we’re coming. Brigde is yours Number One.” Arthur ran after Merlin, but instead of going to the shuttle bay, Merlin took a detour to the storage room where his things were.

“Here, you take.” He shoved jar after jar into Arthur’s arms, grabbed a few other things and then they made their way to the shuttle bay as quickly as possible. 

Arthur stopped in his tracks when they entered. The ‘baby’ dragon was still a lot bigger than one of their shuttles and it gave off a strange light that seemed to pulse from his almost see-through body. It was lying on its side and had its eyes closed. Through the open door of the shuttle bay, he saw the eye of mama dragon, watching what was going on. 

Merlin spoke to both of them as he approached the giant baby carefully and then inspected the wound that their exhaust outlet seemed to have caused. Nobody had seen the creatures there, they must be able to cloak themselves. 

“The blue.” Merlin ordered and Arthur carefully came closer and handed him the jar with the blue powder.

He would have loved to touch the creature, just to see if it was warm or cold or felt like anything he had ever met, but Arthur didn’t dare, so he handed Merlin the things he asked for and then watched as Merlin’s eyes were glowing golden again as he held out his hand and very slowly, the wound disappeared. 

Mama dragon made a sound and Merlin said something to her.

They watched as the baby dragon slowly opened its eyes and raised its head. It made a sound that was somewhere between a chirp and the trumpeting of an elephant, to which the big dragon responded. 

Arthur’s heartbeat was speeding up again – as if his blood hadn’t been pumping through his veins a lot faster than normally already – when the baby turned its head and brought its snout close to Merlin, but Merlin just held out his hand and then stroked the nose before the little dragon turned and found its way out of the shuttle bay.


	15. Chapter 15

As soon as the dragon was gone, Arthur had wrapped his arms around Merlin and held him tight. He was so relieved that Merlin was alright. And that he saved the ship once more. And that he was alright. “Don’t ever do that again.”

Merlin pulled back slowly. “What I do?”

“Not letting me know you can do things like this and then just do them and it looks scary and is dangerous.”

“Is no dangerous.” Merlin shook his head. 

“Of course it is. It’s a bloody dragon!” This was a sentence Arthur never thought he’d ever say. 

“Is nice dragon. Was angry because we hurting baby.” Merlin said it as if this was the most natural thing.

Arthur noticed that the entire shuttle bay crew was looking and carefully let go of Merlin. “Let’s go back to…” My quarters. I need to make sure you’re alright. 

“Put stuff back in cargo room.” Merlin collected the jars and things and again, he stuffed most of them into Arthur’s arms and then just walked briskly over to the storage area, smiling at Mordred, who still stood in the same spot, totally baffled. 

They had returned Merlin’s dragon medicine to the storage and then went back up to the conference room where Arthur had ordered the main bridge crew to. They had talked about what had happened and how they could not notice a creature this big. It hadn’t show on their radar and none of the other scans had come up with a dragon either. 

“Never meeted space dragon before.” Merlin announced happily. “Must study. Find, if there is more other space dragons.”

“Even though they are interesting, I’d prefer to never run into one again.” Lance looked from one to the other. 

Morgana chuckled. “It sure was…interesting. And I’m a bit cross that you didn’t call me to the shuttle bay.”

Merlin looked a bit guilty. “Healer Morgana is for people.”

“I understand you had to react quickly and you obviously did a great job. Maybe I’m just disappointed that I missed the chance to look at a space dragon up close.”

Arthur cleared his throat. “That said…Merlin…how did you do that?”

“What?”

“How did you know there was this creature…dragon? How did you know how to talk to it?” 

Merlin once again threw him a look as if he was daft. “I is dragon lord. I talk to dragonses.”

“Did you do that telepathically? Like…when you call me?” Arthur tried to fend the blush off his face when he noticed the surprised and curious  
looks of his crew. 

“No…yes…must say the words because I isn’t sure that dragon hears me because of window.” Merlin shrugged. “But hears me.” He smiled. 

“I do hope, you apologized on our behalf. We had no intention of hurting a creature.”

Gwaine spoke up for the first time. “Unless it hurts us first.”

“Gwaine!”

Merlin nodded. “Mama dragon says to have to be more…”

“Careful?”

“Careful next time.” 

“I’m very interested in how you healed the little dragon.” Morgana adjusted her uniform jacket a bit as she got up. “Join me in sick bay when you have the time?”

Merlin nodded and smiled. “No big deal.”

Everybody looked at Gwaine. 

+++

“Arthur?”

Arthur was in the shower when he heard Merlin’s voice. He didn’t need to look at the communicator, he knew he heard it in his mind. “Merlin. What is it?” He smiled and wondered briefly, if Merlin could also feel what he was doing while he contacted him that way. If he could…Arthur grinned. Naughty, Merlin, naughty. 

“Come holo deck?”

“Sure. Let me get dressed first.”

“Okay. I am waits for you.”

Smiling, Arthur finished his shower, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist before he padded over to his closet. Hmm, it didn’t hold many civilian clothes as he just didn’t need them. Even when they were on the surface of some planet, he was usually there in official mission and wore his uniforms. 

What did Merlin have in mind this time? The first time, he had forced him to meditate with him and they had repeated that once in a while. Other times, he had dragged him through the Ealdorian wilderness. It was beautiful and he had felt good each time they left again, but sometimes he had been quite sore from all the hiking they’d done. They had done picknicks and just watched sunsets in silence, so what would it be today?

“Merlin?” Arthur still had no idea how Merlin did the telepathy thing and if he could reach him like that, too.

“Yes?”

“What are we going to do? I need to figure out if I need hiking gear again or if sweatpants will do?”

He heard Merlin giggle. “Can you wears white shirts and blue two-legs?”

“Alright.” That at least meant no hiking and most likely no meditation either. “Give me a minute.”

Finally being dressed in the requested white shirt and the dark blue jeans, Arthur made his way down the corridors to the elevator and finally found himself at the holo deck. 

The doors slid open and he stepped into…Ealdor. It was a nice place they had found hiking the other day and Merlin waved from across the clearing. A little stream gurgled somewhere in the background and Merlin had set up a picknick. Alright, if he wanted to eat here today, great, it was always fun. 

“Hi.” Arthur went over, kicked his shoes off and leaned down to put a quick kiss on Merlin’s lips. 

“Hi.” Merlin beamed but seemed a bit absent-minded. 

Sitting down, Arthur looked over the assembled goodies. “What is all this? Ealdorian food?”

“Yes.” Merlin rambled down the Ealdorian names of the dishes and Arthur had no clue what some of them were. He reached for the plate Merlin held out to him.

“Sounds fine by me.”

They started eating and talked about their days, Arthur busy with some weird freight they had to deliver to a planet and Merlin helping Morgana figuring out the ingredients of the things he healed the dragon with. Arthur liked this. They were away from the prying eyes of the crew and had some time for themselves. 

“Arthur?” Merlin started clearing the left-overs away and took the plate out of Arthur’s hand. 

“Yes?”

Leaning in, Merlin kissed him. This was nothing new, they had kissed a lot lately, but the kiss turned more demanding and passionate. Gently, Merlin pushed him onto his back without breaking the kiss and Arthur gasped when he felt Merlin’s fingers underneath his shirt. Heavens, how he had longed for this. Merlin’s touches felt just as good as in all the wet dreams he’d been having in the past weeks. No, they felt better as they were real. 

All the time Arthur thought that he needed to be in charge. He was the Captain of a ship and Merlin seemed to be so helpless and in need of protection most of the time. Which wasn’t true, he knew that Merlin could very well defend himself and others if he needed to. So he did let go and Merlin took over. If he wanted to caress his chest and drive him crazy with his kisses, he wouldn’t protest. It was what he wanted and needed. 

Merlin pulled back for a moment to position Arthur’s hands over his head before he started to unbutton his shirt. Arthur felt exposed and vulnerable, but so ready for anything Merlin wanted to do and when Merlin’s lips touched his chest, he sighed.

Merlin had his ways with him, teasing, caressing, kissing, licking and sometimes he used his teeth, hard enough so he could feel it, gentle enough to give pleasure. Arthur didn’t care how long it would take. What Merlin did to him was fantastic. 

After a while, Merlin’s fingers toyed with his waistband and he pulled back again after giving Arthur’s nipples another good lick. 

Arthur shivered. “Merlin…”

“You wants to?” Merlin had a slight blush on his face. 

“Hell, yes, I want you ever since you entered this ship.” It was true, even though he had never said it out loud. “But…the moons?”

A wide and little mischievous smile showed on Merlin’s face. “The moons say yes.”


	16. Chapter 16

Arthur made it to the bridge, barely. He hadn’t felt like this in forever and could barely walk. 

“Captain, are you…” Leon fell silent when he saw him and then couldn’t hide a grin. 

Gwaine threw him a look and nodded appreciatively. “Finally. Congrats.”

Arthur blushed. Was it so obvious that he and Merlin had finally done it? 

“Where’s Merlin?” Percy looked around. 

Blushing even deeper, Arthur made his way over to his chair. 

“He’s probably still sleeping.” Mithian pretended to be busy with her displays, which didn’t keep her from making this remark. 

Lance just grinned.

“Are we done now commenting on things that are none of our business?” Arthur asked and looked around. Everyone checked their displays and deliberately didn’t look at him. “Alright. Status report.”

It was a very uneventful day, which was great for a change as it gave Arthur lots of time to remember the night before and brought a smile to his face. Nobody had ever fucked him like Merlin. He could still feel the gentle, questioning touches when Merlin opened his belt. He had always found the moment where he had to wiggle out of his clothes a bit embarrassing, but didn’t mind at all with Merlin. Merlin had unwrapped him like a present and his cheeks had been glowing because it was hard to believe that anyone would look at him like that. Merlin caressed every new part of revealed skin, took his time to explore and sometimes Arthur had the feeling, Merlin was trying to find out if there were any physical differences between them. 

It hadn’t felt like it, though, and when Merlin finally wrapped his lips around his dick, Arthur yelled out. His cock had been standing at attention from their kissing alone and when the wet heat of Merlin’s mouth surrounded it, Arthur thought it would be over too soon. But Merlin didn’t let it get that far. He continued his exploration, kissed and licked part of Arthur’s skin that never had been kissed before and when Arthur thought he couldn’t take it any longer, Merlin had shed his clothes and for the first time, Arthur could see him in all of his glory. 

A little voice in his brain reminded him that “he is very much a he” and if he weren’t too busy taking it all in, he would have been jealous of his sister for seeing all this long before he had. 

Merlin was gorgeous. Of course, Arthur had noticed the broad shoulders and the muscles moving underneath the tight-fitting t-shirts he wore sometimes. He was just the right mixture of slim and defined and his cock fit his appearance perfectly. Arthur gasped when he saw it. 

“Merlin…” 

Merlin leaned down to kiss him again and then moved his lips to his jawline and up to his ear. “Can I…”

Yes. Whatever it was. Yes. Arthur nodded slightly. 

From somewhere, Merlin produced a vial, trickled some oil into his hand and started to prepare him. 

Arthur yelled out when he felt those long, strong fingers on him, touching him where he hadn’t been touched in ages and gently opening him up. His whole body was so ready and what Merlin was doing to him was almost torture. It felt as if Merlin was surprised by what he was feeling and continuing his explorations before he finally pulled back. 

Nodding again, Arthur gave the sign and Merlin scrambled around to position himself between his legs. There was a bit of fumbling and then Arthur felt Merlin slowly pushing in. He had always feared this moment a bit. Even knowing that it would feel good later, it initially hurt or at least stung to be spread like this. With Merlin, it just felt glorious. It was as if they were a perfect match and feeling Merlin inside him made him whole. 

He clutched at Merlin’s arms, trying to fight his eyes that wanted to close in pleasure, but he couldn’t miss a second of the look on Merlin’s face – surprised, delighted, pure pleasure and happiness – it was a sight to see. 

When Merlin was all in, he gasped and that little sound was so sexy that Arthur wanted to come right there. There was no time for exploration and trying out now, they both wanted release and after a few thrusts, Arthur yelled out and came hard when Merlin tensed and pulsed his load into him. 

But Arthur didn’t get a chance to catch his breath. Merlin’s skin seemed to change colour…it was radiating and pulsed with his orgasm in the spectrum of a rainbow. His eyes glowed golden as he leaned in to kiss Arthur again. 

Arthur’s head was spinning. Merlin’s kisses had always felt good, but this kiss took it to a whole new level. It was almost as if he was feeling what Merlin was feeling on top of his own sensations and emotions. He never wanted it to end. 

The night had been perfect. They made love a few more times, Merlin had him on his hands and knees, on his side and on his back again, before they snuggled and watched the Ealdorian sun slowly rise on the horizon before they fell asleep for a few hours.

Of course, he had been late for his shift, so his crew had known long before he had set foot onto the bridge. That they were teasing him now was embarrassing, but alright, they were his friends and after all the slow burn of Merlin’s and his relationship, well, he would have done the same if it were someone else. 

Merlin bounced onto the bridge. “Hello!” It sounded even more cheery than usually. 

Gwaine turned. “Look at you! Congratulations!”

Merlin beamed. “Thanks.”

Percy chuckled. “You seem quite happy today.”

“I IS happy.” Merlin came over and pressed a kiss on Arthur’s temple. 

They needed to talk about the do’s and don’ts while he was on duty, Arthur thought, but felt a little blush on his face. “Hi.”

Mithian looked over and smiled, before she frowned slightly. “Merlin?”

“Yes?”

“What’s…that thing…on your neck?”

Arthur got up and pushed Merlin’s hair out of the way. There was a purple triskelion right underneath Merlin’s hairline. “Merlin?”

Merlin beamed even wider. “Moons abroof.”

His thoughts were racing. He had seen Merlin do weird and wonderful things with the colour of his skin but this hadn’t been there when they had parted when he left to do his job. “The moons approve? Of what?”

“You. Me. Staying for life.” Merlin smiled happily. 

For a brief moment, there was a deadly silence on the bridge. 

“Isn’t that…your expression for ‘getting married’?” Leon finally spoke. 

Merlin nodded. “You call that, we call staying for life.” He beamed at Arthur. 

What? WHAT?

“Congratulations, Captain,” Gwaine couldn’t grin even wider. “Seems you just mated for life, buddy.”


	17. Chapter 17

“Hey!” Leon jumped forward to escape the ball that Arthur more clobbered than hit. He let his racket sink. “What’s wrong with you today?”

Arthur had thought that a round of squash with Leon on the holo deck would get his head clear. After Merlin had dropped the bomb of that they were married and that marriage was for life, he had been in kind of a stupor, always slightly on the verge of panicking. 

“I…” He removed his protective glasses. “I’m sorry. I’m not myself today.”

“You’re not yourself since you married Merlin. What’s wrong, Arthur?” Leon came over. 

Taking a deep breath, Arthur shrugged. “I don’t know. It…I didn’t know.”

“That much was clear by the way you looked at him when he said it.” Leon chuckled slightly. “Sorry, not funny. But…what’s the difference?”

“What do you mean ‘what’s the difference’?” Arthur frowned. 

Leon reached for his towel, wiped over his sweaty face and rubbed it at his neck. “Come on, you two have been joined at the hip ever since you walked him back to his quarters that first day of him being conscious. You spent all your spare time together, you learn from each other every day…”

“What are you talking about?” Getting irritated, Arthur rolled his shoulder. He had hit that little rubber ball a lot harder than he should have. 

Handing one of the water bottles over, Leon stopped in mid-motion. “That you’ve been married from day one. Everybody saw that.”

Everybody. Everybody but him, apparently. “It…it went so fast.” They didn’t even have a ‘boyfriend’-phase or a ‘my partner’-phase. They went straight from dating to being married. For life. 

“It might have been a misunderstanding or…a non-communication as both sides just assumed the other knew what it meant.” Leon opened his water bottle and took a long drag. “But what’s the big deal? I’ve known you for so long now, Arthur. I’ve never seen you happier and it suits you.”

Arthur nodded. It had been one big misunderstanding. He had not know that sleeping with Merlin meant to commit himself to him…forever. 

“Arthur?” Leon tilted his head slightly to get his attention back. “If you are seriously thinking about breaking up over this, I suggest you do it fast and we take Merlin to Earth and that’s the end of it.”

“No!” That came out faster than Arthur had even thought it. The mere thought of delivering Merlin to Earth and him probably never seeing him again suffocated him. 

“Then embrace the new status. You set out into space to find new things.” Leon winked. “You found love.”

+++

You found love. Leon had said it just like that. As if it was the most simple thing ever. It had never been easy for him to find love, he always had to guard his feelings and his sister was the closest person he ever had, despite their differences. What if Leon was right? What if he should just let go for a moment and accept the new situation?

It was difficult. In his mind, he had always thought that if he found someone at all, they would date for a couple of years before, in a grand gesture, he would propose. Now he just had sex and was bonded? That felt…weird, outdated…not the way he planned. 

Had he planned to propose to Merlin at all? The longer he thought about it, the more he had to realize that yes, he had no intention of letting Merlin go. But wasn’t that just because he had a crush…alright, was in love? The hormones and pheromones and whatever acting up? What if he learned more about Merlin and his culture and his habits and Merlin learned about him and they came to the conclusion that they hated each other? There was no way out of this. 

Then again, the moons of Ealdor had decided that he was the right one for Merlin. Even though that sounded like some ancient mumbo jumbo, it had produced that triskelion on Merlin’s neck that made Merlin so sure he had made the right choice. 

Maybe he should just trust Merlin’s instincts? He was brought up to trust no one, only to rely on his knowledge and skills. That was what had made him Captain of the newest ship in the Union Star Fleet at a rather young age. Then again, he trusted people every day. He had to as he didn’t have all the skills to maintain the Camelot on his own. He needed his crew, they all were bigger through being a part of something. What if a relationship with Merlin was exactly the same? They came from different backgrounds, had different skill sets and Merlin’s knowledge was so much bigger than his. Maybe, just maybe, he was bigger and better because of Merlin, too? 

The thought of breaking up with Merlin hadn’t even entered his mind before Leon had mentioned it. He didn’t want that, he wanted Merlin in his life, so why was he stumbling to accept this sudden marriage? He’d had no intentions of not being with Merlin before that, why now?

Entering his quarters, he stopped in his tracks when he found Merlin standing by the window. “Merlin.”

Merlin turned and smiled carefully. He didn’t look good. 

“What’s wrong?”

“You do no want me.”

“What? What gave you that idea?” Damn, he had messed up. He had probably been a bit distanced since Merlin announced to the bridge crew what had happened. 

Merlin looked devastated. “You do…is not happy with staying.”

“Merlin…Merlin, sit down, let’s talk.”

There were tears in Merlin’s eyes and Arthur knew that he had not only messed up, but fucked up royally. He was relieved when Merlin sat down on the couch. 

“Listen, Merlin. I am just surprised. I did not know that it would mean that we are married. It took me a bit to realize, I don’t mind that I didn’t know. I don’t want it any other way.”

Merlin swallowed hard and tried to blink the tears away. “But you ask me ‘stay?’. Only that the moons wasn’t right. I thinked you don’t know about moons. Then you wait for moons to be right, so I thinked you knew!”

He had asked Merlin to stay? Oh, true, that one night when he didn’t want him to leave. Merlin had thought that was a proposal. So, from Merlin’s point of view, he had proposed to him. Merlin had done nothing wrong. “I did not.” Arthur smiled. “It works a bit different on Earth.”

Sniffing, Merlin wiped the sleeve of his jump suit underneath his nose. “Healer Morgana explainded. I now know that Earthlings have no moons to ask.”

“No, we don’t.” So Merlin had spoken with Morgana about this. What else might she have told him? “But…”

“Healer Morgana sayed that you…idiot and knucklehead…let me go.”

Arthur frowned. It sounded quite like his sister to call him names, but… “I’m not going to let you go.”

“But you no wants me. Moons were wrong.”

Merlin looked as if it was the worst thing that ever happened that the moons of Ealdor had betrayed him. 

Arthur shook his head. “They weren’t.”

Slowly, Merlin looked at him. 

“I want you. I’ve wanted you since we found your ship out there, floating in space. I’m just…it is strange that everything I knew about relationships is so different with you. But I am happy that you are with me. If you still want me, I will stay for the rest of my life.” That felt more like the proposal he had envisioned himself doing. 

“I you wants.” A slow smile showed on Merlin’s face. “I go out into space to finds you. You calls to me across universe.”

Arthur wasn’t sure about that, but Merlin obviously believed it, so it was fine by him. “And now you’re stuck with me.” He grinned. 

“Good!” Merlin grinned back, reached for his hand and leaned in for a kiss. 

+++

The kiss had turned into many and Arthur set out on a quest to explore that triskelion mark on Merlin’s neck, just as Merlin went on an exploration for a matching mark on him. 

“Merlin…” Arthur panted as Merlin had explored with hands and mouth, fingers and lips, tip of his tongue. 

“Is not there.”

“What?”

“Mark.” Merlin sounded very disappointed. 

It took Arthur a moment to put this together. “Does…the partner...get a matching mark?”

“If moons are right, yes.”

Arthur pulled Merlin close. “Have the moons ever met someone from Earth?”

Merlin threw him a look. “I no think so.”

“Then they might not know how to give me the mark?”

“But…needs to show we are staying for life.”

Arthur turned to his side, propped his head on his arm and smiled at Merlin. “On Earth, we wear matching rings to show we belong together.” He had no doubts about that anymore. 

“No marks?”

“They are not marks on our skin, but they as symbols, too.”

Merlin seemed to think about that. “Can we haves rings with mark symbol?” He grinned. 

Arthur laughed. “I’ll see what I can do. In the meantime, we could organize a party to celebrate?”

He would organize a party any day if it always brought the excited shine to Merlin’s eyes that he was showing now. 

“Everyone come to celebration!”

“Of course, Merlin. Everyone will be invited.”


	18. Chapter 18

“You need bridesmaids!” Morgana insisted.

“None of us is the bride, so we do not need bridesmaids.” Arthur shook his head. As soon as he had told his crew about the party, everyone wanted to be part of the planning. Not that he had planned something big. He just wanted a nice evening at Seven Below with food and drink, so he could introduce Merlin as his husband. 

“And a cake, I’m going to talk to them in the kitchens, I’m sure they can make a cake.” Mithian beamed. 

Arthur was just about to oppose the cake, too, but then he remembered how much Merlin liked cake and shrugged. “I think a cake won’t be too bad.”

The women already made plans amongst themselves and Arthur wasn’t sure if he liked it. 

Lance looked over.

“What is it?” Hoping that Lance would save him by telling him something about the navigation or somesuch, Arthur turned his attention to him. 

“Wouldn’t it be a bit more official, if you made this a wedding, not just a party?”

Et tu, Brutus? “A…wedding?”

“Yes, I mean, you said you want to make it official, so you could have someone do a little ceremony. So…nobody can do anything about it?”

That was Lance, always having the good ideas. Merlin had chosen him and from his perspective, they were married, but him as an Earthling needed something else to make it really official. “I can’t do the ceremony myself.” He could, in fact, do that for others, as he was the captain of the ship – an ancient tradition Union Star Fleet had never done away with. 

“But I can.” Leon grinned widely. 

Arthur took a deep breath. Leon was right. He was second in command and as such stepped in when he wasn’t available. “So…would you?”

+++

It had been a hectic couple of days until everything was organized and now they stood before Leon, who looked from one to the other proudly. 

Merlin had been fond of the idea of a party, but he had no idea what he was actually in for when Morgana, Mithian and Gwen decided to prepare him for the day. He had entered Seven Below in a well-fitting suit and dress shoes, obviously feeling weird in the new garments, but too curious to see what the room looked like and excited about what would happen. 

Arthur, in his best dress uniform, had been waiting with Leon and his heart leapt when he saw Merlin. He knew his husband was gorgeous, but this outfit upped the game quite a bit. 

“Arthur?” Merlin had walked up to him and taken his hand when Arthur held out his. 

“Are you ready?”

Merlin nodded and tightened the hold on Arthur’s hand a bit. He threw him a small side-ways smile and then looked at Leon.

Arthur couldn’t remember what Leon had said about love and finding it in unexpected places. Even though he already was married, he was nervous as hell. Which was ridiculous. He was the captain of this ship and stood before his crew very often. This was different, though. 

“The rings?” Leon looked up.

Arthur paled. He had planned to get them rings made on the next planet they would get to. Which was about three days away. “I…”

“Here you go.” Percy grinned widely and held a small heart-shaped pillow between them that had two rings lying on it. 

Thank heavens! Arthur knew this would mean giving Percy at least a day or two off for saving his arse in this situation, but that wasn’t important now. His Chief of Security could have an entire week for doing this. Carefully, Arthur removed one of the rings and blinked. It wasn’t just a simple wedding band, it had Merlin’s triskelion engraved all around. 

He took Merlin’s hand and looked him into the eyes. Leon said the words for him and he was grateful that he only had to repeat them as he would have forgotten most of them if he were on his own. 

“I, Arthur Pendragon, take you, Merlin Emrys…” Emrys? Since when did Merlin have a last name and why hadn’t anyone told him about this? And how came that Leon knew? “to be my lawfully wedded husband.” When Merlin still looked at him, he added. “Forever.”

Merlin smiled widely and nodded, which drew some giggles from the crew as Arthur slipped the ring on his finger. 

“Now it’s your turn, Merlin.” Leon smiled and read out the start of the sentence for Merlin to repeat.

“I, Merlin Emrys of Ealdor…”

Arthur held his breath. Merlin hadn’t changed his mind about this? Then his eyes widened when Merlin rattled down what was either a precise description of where exactly he was from or a list of titles by the sound of it. He had always assumed that Merlin was just a country boy. A country boy with quite the knowledge and some special powers, but he hadn’t expected this. 

“…dragon lord, marry you, Arthur.” Merlin nodded at this declaration.

Mithian, who had probably only understood half of what Merlin had said, bit her lower lip to hold back a giggle and Morgana did one of her soundless suppressed laughs that shook her shoulders. 

Merlin took the offered ring and put it on Arthur’s index finger. 

Before Arthur could say something, Leon continued. “You may kiss now.”

Merlin didn’t need to be told twice as he wrapped his arms around Arthur’s neck and kissed him deeply. 

Arthur knew that a lot of photos would make the rounds on the ship for quite a while, but couldn’t care less. Now it was really official. Merlin was his and nobody could do anything about it. 

The crew cheered and formed a guard of honour and there was confetti and rice and they cut an enormous wedding cake that would most likely feed everyone on the entire ship. There was an endless stream of congratulators and Morgana hadn’t spared him the ‘wedding dance’ tradition. It must have looked ridiculous as he was – which was a well-known fact – a horrible dancer and Merlin didn’t know a thing about Earth-dances, but they laughed a lot. 

Percy insisted on photos, so they took a few official ones and Gwaine made sure that everyone had something to drink before he took over as an old-fashioned DJ. 

Coming back from a little bathroom break, Arthur looked over the assembled crowd. They weren’t family by blood – except Morgana – and some of them he’d only met for the first time when they boarded the ship, but he couldn’t have wished for a better wedding party. Some crew members were already on their way back to their duty station and squeezed by with a “Congratulations, Captain!”, some only showed up now as their schedules hadn’t allowed to leave their workstations sooner, but everybody wanted to be part of this. He needed to find and thank so many people, which he set out to do. 

Sending wide smiles across the room once in a while when he looked up to find Merlin in a conversation with someone or dancing as if nobody watched, Arthur thanked Leon for the nice ceremony, his bridesmaids-against-his-will Morgana, Mithian and Gwen, everyone he passed for coming, Percy for the rings and Gwaine for the idea where to get them. 

Morgana linked her arm through his. “You know, I never thought I’d live to see the day where you officially committed to someone. I’m glad you found the one who is worth it.”

There was a weird lump in his throat at her words, which was probably just because the air was so dry and he didn’t have anything to drink, so he pressed her hand. “Thank you.”

“Now go, dance with your gorgeous husband or I will.” She pressed a quick smooch on his cheek.

In the early morning hours, Seven Below was almost empty, Arthur reached over the bar and grabbed two glasses and a bottle of champaign before he looked over to where Merlin had pulled up a chair at the very front of the room, facing the bottom-length windows to look out into the universe. He went over. “Care for a glass of champaign?”

Merlin looked up, smiled and nodded, before he looked outside again. 

Arthur poured the glasses and handed one to Merlin. “To my wonderful husband.”

Merlin smiled and raised his glass a bit. “To us.”

They sat in silence, Merlin with his feet up on another chair, leaning against Arthur, for a while. 

“Did you like tonight?” Arthur pressed a kiss in Merlin’s hair and then he felt Merlin nod. 

“Was great party.”

Arthur chuckled. “What did you like best?” 

Merlin seemed to contemplate for a moment. “All friends is been here.”

He couldn’t agree more. It had been a fantastic night and a roaring party, but the best part was that everyone he loved had been present. “You’re right about that, Mr. Pendragon.” 

Merlin lifted his head and smiled lazily at the teasing. “Yes, Captain Emrys.”


	19. Chapter 19

The crew left them a few days of honeymoon and they put it to good use. They barely left Arthur’s quarters and if they did, it was only to sneak to the holo deck. Arthur had hoped he could show Merlin where he had grown up and what Earth looked like, but they usually didn’t even get that far. As soon as they had created a nice environment, they were all over each other again. It had unfortunately only lasted three days as Arthur had duties when they arrived at the next planet. 

“We also need the respective data of your husband, Captain.” The lady with white hair and glasses looked sternly at him and reminded him a lot of his Maths teacher in grade four. 

He cleared his throat. “Well, there’s a bit of a delay with that, Madam. You see, he is from a planet that is not in the Union, therefore the connection is not that good.” As in non-existent, but she didn’t need to know.

“There are no planets that don’t belong to the Union. If you want that certificate, we need proof of identity from him.”

Arthur had expected that it would take a bit of convincing, but he had tried everything he could think of in the past thirty minutes but she didn’t see reason. “As I said, it’s on the way. We are only here for today, you see, we are on a mission and…”

“You made it clear that you have very important things to do, but this is important, too.” She pursed her lips. “If you can’t give us the data we need, we can’t give you the certificate.”

He knew when he was fighting a loosing battle, so he sighed and got up. “Thank you, Madam. Have a good day.”

“You, too, Captain.”

He was quiet on the way back in the shuttle. Arthur had known that it wouldn’t be easy to get the official papers just because there was no record on Merlin anywhere. Well, maybe on Ealdor, but that was so far out that they couldn’t just drop by to grab his ID card. Without the papers, though, Union Star Fleet would not recognize his bond. 

“What’s up, Arthur?” Gwaine, who had shuttled him down to the surface and now took them up again, threw him a look. “You’re awfully quiet.”

For a moment, he didn’t know if he should confide in his pilot, but the bridge crew would find it out soon enough anyways. “I’ve run into some issues when I tried to get a certificate.”

Gwaine groaned. “Because Merlin is an alien.”

Because Merlin is an Ealdorian. Because Ealdor isn’t in the Union. Because nobody had ever heard of Ealdor before. “Yes.”

“And without the certificate, no recognition from the big wigs, I see.”

Arthur leaned his head back against the headrest and let out a deep breath. “If you want to put it that way…”

Gwaine grinned and punched a few buttons on the display. 

“Gwaine, what did we say about cutting off the automatic recording?”

Turning in his seat, Gwaine just looked at him. “With all due respect, Sir, I am certain you don’t want the following conversation recorded.”

It wasn’t Gwaine’s thing to address him so formally, so Arthur was wary. “Continue.”

“You will never get the certificate you need on any of the planets that work so closely with the Union.”

He had figured that out already. “I know, it’s an issue.”

A small smug grin appeared on Gwaine’s face. “Then let’s go to a place that doesn’t look too closely.”

“What do you mean?”

“A little detour? To explore….let’s say…Oggendere?”

“Oggendere?” Arthur gasped.

“Or otherwise known as…Space Vegas?”

Arthur shouldn’t have been so surprised that his pilot knew a place like that. Oggendere was in the Union, but they didn’t take rules and regulations too seriously. They liked to take what they could get and tried not to give too much back. It was common knowledge that it was a swamp of smugglers and other shady creatures. You could gamble your entire life away on that planet or make it big as a fist fighter. But…Gwaine was right. They could probably find someone on Oggendere who could give them a marriage certificate that was faked well enough to withstand the initial reviews of the Union. Once Merlin was on record as his husband, they had bought a bit of time to get Merlin’s data and get a real certificate. 

“I know just the guy…” Gwaine looked so content with himself. 

“I haven’t said yes yet.” Arthur wasn’t happy. It wasn’t that he was a stickler to rules like Leon was, but he was the captain of the ship and a Pendragon and all of that meant something. 

Gwaine laughed. “I saw you thinking.” Then he chanted. “We’re going to Space Vegas, we’re going to Space Vegas.”

+++

Arthur had no idea how Gwaine had even managed to get into the Academy. He had been a rouge, a smuggler, a scallywag before someone had recruited him and made sure he stuck to the official training when they saw his skills as a pilot. He should have known that Oggendere was like a second home to Gwaine, who led him through the narrow back-roads and dark alleys the same way he moved around on the Camelot. Of course he knew someone who knew someone who talked to someone…and Arthur decided to turn a blind eye to all of that. 

He knew he would be in trouble if he ever used what he was about to buy and that it would not only cost him the bigger part of his yearly pay, but maybe also his career. Without the officials having Merlin’s data they would never issue a certificate, Arthur knew that. And they wouldn’t get the data without going to Ealdor. Of which they were not really certain where it was and the estimated whereabouts where so far from where they were at the moment that it would take them weeks or months to go there. Precious time they didn’t have. 

Pulling his bandana a bit further up over his nose, he held his head bowed and followed Gwaine through dubious paths and walkways and tried not to look left or right. 

“That’s what we need. You don’t happen to know someone who could help us out?” Gwaine put on his most winning smile when they finally entered a grubby little place and he had found the person they’d been looking for. 

Arthur hovered in the background and hoped he wouldn’t stick out too much and didn’t reek of ‘official’. 

The grimy creature before them might have been an original inhabitant of Oggendere, but nobody really came from here. He snarled and bared a few missing teeth which he obviously tried to make up for with the huge knife that was right next to him on his desk. “A marriage certificate.” He laughed. “What kind of shit did you get yourself into that you need one of those?”

Gwaine laughed along and Arthur got more nervous by the minute. “It’s for a friend of ours.”

It was for Merlin, so that wasn’t technically a lie. 

“It’ll cost you.” The man nodded, already counting the credits in his mind. 

“Ah, come on. We’re old pals and do I look as if I had made a fortune since we’ve last seen each other?” 

“There are rumours…” Scratching his stubbly chin…or at least one of the many…the man typed on a portable display.

“There are many rumours about me.” Gwaine laughed it off. “And a lot of them are actually true.”

Arthur didn’t even want to know one of them. 

“They say you are a pilot in the Union Star Fleet…an officer.” Looking Gwaine straight in the eye, the man all of a sudden looked very unamused. 

Cold sweat started to run down Arthur’s back. They both were officers of the Union Star Fleet. If they were found out in an environment like this, they might never make it back to the ship. 

Gwaine laughed. “That’s what they say? That’s a good one.” He chuckled as if it was the most amusing thing he’d ever heard. “They don’t even deserve a pilot with my skill. You know they’re all just a bunch of losers.”

It felt as if time was ticking away very loudly for a moment before the man joined Gwaine’s laughter. “I never believed that anyway. You’re too clever to let yourself be used like that. So…you got the credits?”

Did that…did that mean that he would do it?

“Do you really think I’d come here, asking a favour and then not being able to pay up?” Gwaine showed a smug grin. “The question is…can you deliver?”

“Give me the credits first.”

Shaking his head, Gwaine grinned. “You get half of it now and the rest when have what we need.”

The man huffed. “Give me the names…”

Gwaine shoved a crumpled piece of paper across the dirty desk. “Here.”

Typing away on his display, the man already seemed bored, but when he turned the paper around, his eyes grew wide.

“What?”

Shit. Shitshitshit, this was going downhill. Even if the Star Fleet wasn’t a welcomed guest on this planet, the name Pendragon was well-known. If it wasn’t him they had heard of, it was his father. Arthur tried to stay calm. 

“THE Merlin Emrys?” The man asked and looked at Gwaine. 

Gwaine tried to play it cool. “Hey, I’m just the messenger.”

“Emrys of Ealdor?”

How had this slimy excuse for a human being ever heard of Merlin? 

Gwaine must have felt that he was about to say something, that he would probably ruin this by demanding answers, and threw him a warning look. 

“Don’t ask me questions, I don’t even know this guy. Should I have heard of him?”

The man shrugged and typed away before he slid a little data storage unit over. “My credits.”

Arthur just wanted to toss the money over and leave this place as soon as possible. He had questions, but he felt this bloke was the wrong one to ask. He needed to get back to Merlin. 

Gwaine took his sweet time to connect the data unit with his own display and check the details of the data before he nodded. “Alright.” He shoved the rest of the credits over. “Been a pleasure doing business with you, as always.” He got up. 

“Yeah…whatever.”

That was a clear sign that they were dismissed and Arthur followed Gwaine out of the building. He held his breath until they were back on the disguised shuttle and well on their way back to the Camelot.


	20. Chapter 20

“You…you can’t…” Leon threw him a look.

“If they won’t accept it, there are no other options.” Arthur removed the leather band with the little container that held the certificate data from around his neck. He wasn’t happy that he had run into Leon first thing back on the ship.

“You’re ruining your career, you know that.” Leon took a deep breath and it showed that he was really concerned. 

Arthur looked at him. “Weren’t you the one who told me that I found love and that I should explore this new and wonderful thing? Even if it costs me my career…I’ll still have Merlin.”

It was clear that Leon wasn’t happy with his decision to tweak the truth a bit by presenting a fake marriage certificate should Union Star Fleet ask for it. And they would ask.

“Maybe they’re not even asking about it an accept the data we transmitted already.” He tried a smile, which Leon didn’t really buy. 

“This is not good.” Leon shook his head. 

Arthur locked the little data unit in his desk, hoping he would never have to use it. He agreed with Leon, this wasn’t good, and he would only use it as the very last option. “Anything else?” 

He had run into Leon on the way to his office and had him update him on what had happened on the ship during his absence.

“No, Sir.”

“Then I should probably get out of these clothes and wash the dirt of this planet off.” Arthur smiled at him, but it was a clear sign that Leon was dismissed and Leon understood. 

“Sir.” Nodding, he turned and left. 

Stretching his neck from one side to the other, Arthur made his way to his quarters. He hadn’t even noticed just how tense he had been the entire time. Maybe a hot shower would help with that. 

“Arthur!”

He still had to get used of Merlin being in his quarters. It was still so fresh that Merlin lived with him now. They had kept Merlin’s quarters until there was enough space to rearrange living situations on board and a larger unit would open up for them. For now, Merlin had his things in his quarters, but spent most of his time in Arthur’s. “Hi Merlin.” When he saw several open displays on the coffee table, he blinked. “What are you doing?”

Merlin came over and pressed a quick kiss on Arthur’s lips. 

Oh, how he wanted this to turn into a thorough necking session. But he was tired and dirty and had a million questions. 

“Checking…”

“Stuff?” Arthur couldn’t help it.

“Yes. Academy stuff.” Merlin beamed. “I thinks when I learn all this, they make me crew member and no call me ‘alien’ more.”

Arthur tried to process that. On top of everything else, Merlin wanted to attend the courses of the Academy, so he could be a full member of the crew? Just to not be considered an alien anymore and to decrease the chances of anyone wanting to dissect him on Earth? The idea itself wasn’t bad, but it could backfire into security officers seeing it as a sign that Merlin wanted to get all the inside information on Union Star Fleet. 

“Merlin…listen…I need to tell you something.”

Blinking big blue eyes at him, a little frown showed on Merlin’s forehead. “What wrong?”

“Let me take a shower first, we can talk when I am out of these dirty clothes.”

+++

Arthur shed the garments and hoped he would never have to see them again. Turning on the water, he mused for a quick moment how in thousands of years they still hadn’t developed another method of cleaning yourself, but stepping underneath the spray, he enjoyed the relaxing feel of the water sliding down his body. 

He really needed to talk to Merlin. First, he had to make him understand what he had done. He had pondered to keeping Merlin in the dark about the fake certificate, but he had a right to know. And then he needed answers. How came that a sleezy creature on a remote planet had heard about Merlin, knew who he was? What for was he famous over the borders and boundaries of his own planet? How came that he was famous there? Arthur had a nagging feeling it might have something to do with all those titles Merlin had rattled down in his own language at the ceremony that nobody had understood. 

Lastly, they needed to talk about Merlin’s plan to become a cadet at Union Star Fleet Academy. Arthur had no doubt that Merlin would pass in record time and flying colours. He had an inkling that Merlin was much more intelligent than anyone on the ship. The question was: Was it a good idea? 

As he was deep in thought, he missed that Merlin had entered the bath room and shed his clothes, so he startled a bit when he felt him right behind. 

“You need your back rubbed?”

Arthur chuckled. “Scrubbed? Are you offering?” But he already felt Merlin’s hands on him and finally started to relax. Strong fingers worked the soap into his skin and made sure that no tiny spot had been forgotten. When the hand slid further down, Arthur laughed. “Oh, so that’s what you call ‘scrubbing my back’.” He leaned forward and braced against the tiles when he felt Merlin’s slippery hand on his balls. 

“Needs a good wash, too.” Merlin whispered in his ear. 

“You’re going to make sure I’m squeaky clean, I see.”

“Only to makes you dirty again…and then squeaky clean you again.”

Arthur moaned slightly when Merlin rolled his balls slightly. “Clean away…”

Merlin took his sweet time preparing him and Arthur’s arms almost gave way where he braced against the wall more than once. It was as if Merlin could read his body perfectly and had lots of fun doing so. 

Finally, finally! he pushed in and Arthur closed his eyes, his entire being focusing on Merlin’s dick travelling up his arse, filling him completely as if it was made for only this purpose. He leaned forward and spread his legs a bit more. 

They found a rhythm and the way Merlin grabbed him by the hips and how his balls slapped against his with every thrust drove Arthur crazy.

Merlin leaned in a bit and pressed wet, slippery kisses on his shoulder and near his spine. 

Arthur knew he wouldn’t last long. Merlin hit his spot over and over and he felt his orgasm tingling down his spine and slowly, his whole body tensed. He grunted when he came, gripping at Merlin and a slow, lazy smile spread across his face when he felt Merlin pumping out his load, too. 

They stood unmoving for a moment before Merlin slowly pulled out.

“You stay.”

Arthur wanted to straighten up.

“No…stay.” Merlin whispered and soon Arthur felt Merlin’s hands on him again, slippery with what might have been soap again, cleaning him. 

He moaned again as his entire body was sensitive and Merlin touched just the right places. 

“Later?” Merlin whispered close to his ear, much more a promise than a question and Arthur nodded. 

+++

Arthur had fallen asleep in Merlin’s arms that night after a light meal and some more love-making, all questions forgotten. But he couldn’t be distracted that easily, he needed to know these things. 

“Merlin?” He had asked Merlin to his office where Merlin had taken an iced tea from the replicator and gotten himself comfy on the couch. 

“Arthur?”

Arthur got up and paced for a moment. “There is something I thought you should know.”

The alarmed look on Merlin’s face was too much. “It’s not bad, but I think you need to know.” Arthur took a deep breath. “We will not get an official marriage certificate from any of the planets that are in the Union.”

“Why no?”

“They all require your data. And the data banks of the Union come up empty as you are not registered.”

Merlin blinked. 

“Do you understand what I’m saying, Merlin? This is important. We only have the papers Leon could fill in, but we need this certificate.”

“Why we need this?”

“To make you an official citizen of the Union.” Or rather an acknowledged being first and then a citizen later. “We need to do this or else Earth might still want to claim you.”

“You claim me first!” Merlin grinned. 

Arthur sat down next to him and took his hand. “Merlin, this isn’t funny. I have no idea what they will do to you if we ever go back to Earth, but I doubt it’ll just be shaking your hand and inviting you to stay for dinner. You’re the first of your kind that we ever met.”

“I is no guinea pig!” Merlin frowned.

Wondering for a moment if he had learned that expression from Gwaine or Morgana, Arthur huffed out a humourless chuckle. “I know. You are my husband and we need to make this as official as possible for the Union to honour it.”

Merlin sipped his iced tea and seemed to think. “So…what you doned on the planet?”

Arthur took another deep breath and then recounted the events of the day. 

For a long moment, Merlin looked at him and Arthur wasn’t sure if Merlin understood the full extent of his actions. 

“That is no legal.”

Nodding, Arthur sighed. “You are right. It’s illegal.”

“They be angry when finds out.”

“They will be more than angry when they find out.” Merlin was so right and when it stated it as a simple fact, Arthur felt miserable. 

“Then….why you send it?”

“Merlin,” Hadn’t he listened? “….to protect you.”

Immediately, Merlin leaned in and kissed him. “You no need to protect me.”

“I am your husband and as such I have sworn to.” Arthur managed a little smile. “Forever. Remember?”

“Yes, but not meaned like that! If Admals are angry, they not longer let you captain Camelot!” Merlin seemed distressed. “You need captain Camelot! Camelot need you!”

“They will strip me of my rank, yes, that will happen, but….I want to be with you. I won’t let them take you away from me.”

“No,” Merlin jumped up. “Yes. They no take me away, I no let them take me away! You no lie them, you Captain of Camelot!” He nodded stubbornly. 

“Merlin,” Arthur took a deep breath. He loved Merlin even more for vehemently insisting that he couldn’t be anything else than the Captain of this ship. Merlin knew how much it meant to him, but he would give it up in a heartbeat if staying on board the Camelot meant to give up Merlin. “There is no other way. We don’t have any of your data that we could provide them with. For them to give us a certificate, we need to know when and where you were born, things like that, transferred into our measurements and systems. They will not just believe you when you tell them. And there is no way to get it.”

Merlin, who had started pacing, stopped. “There is.”

There was? “How?”

A wide smile showed on Merlin’s face and he shrugged as if this was the easiest solution ever. “We go Ealdor!”


	21. Chapter 21

“What is this nonsense?” Uther glared at him through the screen.

Arthur knew this moment would come but it didn’t make him happier that it was here. Union Star Fleet finally reacted to the news that he had buried deep in a report, in fine print basically, hoping they would just not really read it. Of course he had known that they would and the reaction his father was showing now was just what he had expected. 

“Admiral.” He stood a bit more at attention and it helped with his nervousness, too. 

“Are you out of your mind?” Uther had turned an alarming shade of red already and the transmission had only just begun. 

Admiral Youngston cleared his throat. “What your father meant to say…Captain, we are not very happy with what we read in your last report.”

Arthur didn’t respond, he just stood there, maintaining eye contact. 

“Would you care to elaborate on why the Camelot took twice as long to finish the given tasks?”

“Of course, Sir. We are a science ship. Explorers.”

“That doesn’t explain why you are stalling.”

Ouch. Of course he had known that Union Star Fleet would notice that all of a sudden, the Camelot took a lot more time to get from A to B. 

“The thought behind that is that we might miss new and wonderous things if we go too fast. As long as our cargo isn’t time-sensitive, we can take the time to look at things, find the unknown and explore it.”

It was in accordance with their main mission and therefore, Arthur knew, they couldn’t do much about it. Their hauling cargo around was something they shouldn’t even be tasked with in the first place.

“I see.” Admiral Youngston took a deep breath. 

“Arthur, what is this nonsense about you getting married?” Uther couldn’t hold back any longer and almost yelled. 

“You are correct, Admiral Pendragon, I got married. It was a very nice ceremony. Sorry you couldn’t be here.” Even though he was nearing his mid-thirties, he felt like the little boy, standing before his father, waiting for the verdict after breaking a vase in the hallway. He straightened his back a bit more. 

“You cannot get married to the alien!” Uther snarled. 

“I already am. And my husband’s name is Merlin.”

Admiral Youngston shook his head. “You know that Union Star Fleet won’t be able to acknowledge this union. The alien…Merlin…can’t be traced in our systems, you don’t even know his date of birth nor do we have this planet you’ve been talking about on our maps.”

“Then it will be part of our mission to find the planet and start diplomatic relations.” Arthur nodded. 

“You will not!” Uther yelled. 

“We cannot allow this.” Youngston took a breath before he continued. “Arthur, you are too deeply involved in this. We will send a diplomatic mission out there, we can’t let the Camelot go.”

“With all due respect, we are the ship that is closest to Ealdor, wherever it may be. We have the scanners and the means to find it first and since we have one of its citizens on board already, it will be easier to develop…”

“You’re coming back!” Uther had jumped up. “No more nonsense of ‘diplomatic relations’ and ‘one of its citizens’ or even ‘I got married’. You did everything the Union tasked you with, you are coming back to Earth now.”

Arthur was trembling and hoped it wasn’t visible. He shook his head. “It’s not nonsense. It is what Union Star Fleet sent me out here to do.”

“To fuck the first alien you run into? I highly doubt that was part of your contract!” Uther yelled. 

“Admiral!” Youngston intervened and then turned back to Arthur. “Captain….Arthur, your reports told us about a lot of things Merlin can do that are not human. What makes you so sure that he didn’t do something to you so that you just believe you are…married to him?”

“Merlin wouldn’t do such a thing. If you ever met him, you’d know.” The moment the words left Arthur’s mouth, he knew he made a mistake. 

“Perfect. Then bring him here, so we can meet him.”

“But Sir!”

“We expect you back here in two weeks.”

“What if we find something we need to explore on the way?”

“You will leave it for someone else to explore. No more delays, Captain. Is that understood?” Admiral Youngston, whom he had known ever since he was a little boy, looked him straight in the eye. 

Letting out a defeated breath, Arthur nodded courtly. “Yes, Sir.”

+++

“What you thinking?” Merlin leaned against him where they had gotten comfy on the couch. 

Or rather, Merlin had gotten comfy. Arthur was deep in thought just the way he had been since the transmission. He had expected that his father would be angry, but he had hoped for a bit more understanding from Youngston’s side. 

“I don’t know what to do, Merlin.”

“Why? What wrong?” Merlin looked at him. 

“You know I had this transmission with Union Star Fleet this morning.”

Merlin nodded. “And they not happy?”

“No, they are not happy with me.” Not happy was quite the understatement. 

“Why not?”

“They don’t want us to go to Ealdor. They want me to bring you to Earth.”

Merlin didn’t say anything for a moment. “But…I can meet you father?”

“You don’t want to, trust me. He is so angry and sees no reason.” Arthur untangled from Merlin and started to pace. “He just sees some kind of…exotic animal in you and doesn’t want to see that you are a being with feelings and that you know what you are doing.” He laughed dryly. “They even seem to think that you put some kind of spell on me and that what we have is not real.” He stopped and looked at Merlin. “They still think you are some kind of spy who is just using me.”

“But I is not!”

“I know. They don’t.” 

“Then we go Ealdor to get data and when we have, we go at Earth to meet them.”

Arthur smiled sadly. It always sounded so easy when Merlin said things like these, but it wasn’t. “They gave us two weeks to return to Earth.”

“That’s no enough time to go Ealdor.” Merlin frowned. 

“That’s exactly the problem.”

+++

Arthur didn’t know what Merlin had done. They had discussed the issue at hand for a bit longer until Merlin mentioned how exhausted he looked. The last thing he remembered was Merlin taking him into his arms, reassuring him that everything would turn out fine and touched foreheads with him like he had done before. This time, he hadn’t shown Arthur the world he had come from, but sent him calming vibes and finally, Arthur could fall asleep. 

He still didn’t have a solution for the issue at hand, though. He needed to talk to someone. 

“Morgs?”

Morgana chuckled when he entered sick bay. “Alright, what is it you want?”

“Why would I want anything?”

“Even when you were five, you only called me ‘Morgs’ when you wanted me to do something for you. What is it now?” She looked up from her display and the laugh fell off her face. “What is it, Arthur?”

“Do you have time for a coffee?”

“Are you asking as my Captain or as my little brother?”

He worried his lower lip with his teeth. “Both, I think.”

A while later, they sat in her quarters, the coffees in their cups long done steaming.

“Fuck.”

“You said that already, Morgs.”

“Mutiny?”

Arthur chuckled without humour at this suggestion. “Don’t you think that I immediately thought of just ignoring my orders? It’s just not me alone I have to think about, I’m responsible for 780 people on this ship. I can’t selfishly risk their careers.”

“And yours.”

“I don’t care about mine too much. If they make me choose, my career is the least of my worries. I can’t pull everybody else down with me, though.”

Morgana looked at him. They had talked about going to Ealdor in a team meeting. “What if…we go to where we found Merlin and salvage all the data from his ship first? There might be enough personal data on him that appeases the big wigs? And then we go to Earth from there?”

“We won’t be able to make it on time. They gave me a strict time frame that is so narrow that it doesn’t leave space for extras.”

“We could be a day or two late because of technical difficulties?” She suggested. 

Arthur shook his head. “The orders were clear. No more taking the scenic route.”

“What can they do about it?”

“Morgana, the careers of everybody on this ship, yours included, depend on us obeying this order now. If it were just for me alone, I wouldn’t think about it twice, but…”

Morgana reached for her cup, not caring that the coffee in it had gone cold. “Then…why do you think about it twice?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you don’t hesitate when you lead us into danger on a normal day.”

He shook his head. “This is different. It’s a personal thing.”

“If it weren’t, you would just give the order.” Morgana sipped her coffee, only then noticing it had gone cold. She looked at the cup, made a face and put it down again. 

“Correct. But I can’t decide this for everyone else.”

Her face lit up as if she just had the best idea ever. “Then why don’t you let them decide?”


	22. Chapter 22

They had talked it through again and again and for the first time, Arthur felt a sense of relief. This step would mean he left everything behind that he had ever known, but it was the only chance of being with Merlin without constantly fearing that Union Star Fleet would come after them. Going back to Earth would be the biggest mistake and he would probably never see Merlin again, he couldn’t let that happen. 

He had informed the bridge crew of his plans first. Everybody exchanged glances and it had been eerily quiet in the briefing room after he finished. 

Merlin had been excited at the prospect of going home from the very beginning, but he had also voiced his concerns and insisted they went to Earth first. Arthur knew that it was the most difficult thing he ever had to do.

“When we reach the remainders of Merlin’s ship, we will salvage all the data we can get to be able to trace it back to his planet. It is then when I will take my leave as Captain of the Camelot,” he swallowed hard, “and go to Ealdor with Merlin. Commander Knight will take the Camelot back to Earth.” He took a deep breath. “This is in contrast to our orders from Union Star Fleet and I am aware that some of you might not be interested in doing this. You have the chance to disembark at Martiment, no questions asked.” Arthur took another deep breath. “It has been an honour and a pleasure to be serving with you and I wish you all the best.” There, he said it. He announced it to the entire crew over the com system. 

Leon looked at him and it was clear that he wasn’t happy. 

Mithian tried to wipe away a tear in a way that she hoped nobody would notice, Percy’s face was a mask of stone. Even Gwaine didn’t have a witty remark for once and looked at the screens as if they showed the most interesting things.

The bridge crew had immediately agreed to going back to where they found Merlin’s ship, disregarding the orders to come back to Earth right away. It would take them longer to go back, but they could still claim that Arthur had made them go when he was gone. 

Arthur had a hard time imagining what his life would look like after this. Since birth, he had been trained to become one of the Union Star Fleet’s leading officers. He had made it through the ranks quickly and prospects that he would one day become the youngest admiral the fleet had ever seen were good. He had breathed more filtered air on spaceships of various sizes than fresh air on planets and he had seen things that people who never left the surface of their planet couldn’t even imagine. His path had been laid before him since before he was born. Arthur didn’t want to follow that path if it meant that he had to give up Merlin. 

He had no idea what it really looked like on Ealdor. Merlin had only shown him a small part of it. What if none of his skill sets were of any value down there? He would have to start over. The thought was so new, so frightening. But as long as he had Merlin, he could do it, he knew. 

The doors of the bridge slid open and Merlin stormed in. 

“You no do that!” He yelled. 

“What? What’s wrong, Merlin?” Merlin never yelled. Well, sometimes he yelled out when they had sex, but as they were clearly not having sex at the moment, something must be terribly wrong. 

“You is wrong! Your head is wrong!” Merlin glared at him. 

“What else is new?” Gwaine muttered under his breath. 

“Let’s go to the briefing room, Merlin.” Arthur got up and tried to stir Merlin towards the adjacent room they had so many meetings in. 

Merlin followed, but still threw things at him that he didn’t understand. Then again ‘clotpole’ and ‘cabbagehead’ were things he hadn’t learned on his planet. 

“Calm down, Merlin. Tell me what it is.”

Merlin took a deep breath. “You no leaving Camelot!” He glared. 

“I am. I have no other choice.”

“You do! We go Ealdor and then we go Earth.”

“We don’t have the time. Merlin, do you really want them to send an interceptor after us? You haven’t seen them, they are terrifying.”

“I no scared from that!”

“You should be. It still doesn’t sound as if they would welcome you on Earth as an equal. We need to do everything we can to make that happen before you set foot on the planet. We have to go to Ealdor. I can’t take the Camelot there, it affects too many people. Therefore, when we have enough data to locate Ealdor, the two of us will take a shuttle there.”

Merlin stared at him. “Camelot needs you.”

“I need you more.”

Leaning against the windowsill, Merlin crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You give up Camelot because of me?”

Arthur didn’t even hesitate. “Yes.” He nodded. Carefully, he closed the space between them and reached up to put his hand in Merlin’s neck. Softly, he caressed Merlin’s hairline with his thumb. 

“Camelot is important for you.”

“She is, but she will do great things under Leon’s command, don’t worry. We will go to Ealdor and you can introduce me to everyone and we will have a quiet life there.”

Merlin looked at him. “You have destiny. We have destiny.”

“Maybe we our destiny is to spend our life on Ealdor?” Arthur wasn’t convinced there was such a thing as destiny, but if Merlin believed it, he would play along for now. 

“No.” Slowly, Merlin shook his head. “Is not our destiny to do. We need be on Camelot.”

Why did everything have to be so complicated? He loved this ship and Merlin knew that. But Union Star Fleet didn’t leave him another choice. He loved Merlin more, so this was the only way to go about the entire situation. 

He leaned in and even though Merlin was in thought, he immediately kissed him back and for a while they kissed almost desperately. Somehow, Arthur knew things would be alright. As long as he had Merlin. 

+++

“Two ticks to Martiment, Sir,” Gwaine announced. 

Arthur swallowed hard. He had left the crew the opportunity to leave the ship if they didn’t want to be part of their mutiny. It was only fair. They had a right to decide their own future and if they didn’t want it on record that they had been on the Camelot when her captain kidnapped her for his private purposes, they could leave. 

It also meant that the news of what they were about to do might reach Earth a lot sooner than intended. If only one of them contacted Star Fleet right away, an interceptor would be waiting for them at Merlin’s abandoned ship. They had to act fast. 

“Report.”

Lance typed away on his display.

“Lieutenant?”

“I’m trying to find the list for you, Sir.”

Arthur looked over. He needed to know how little of the crew would be left after today to make sure that Leon would be able to take the Camelot back to Earth. “How difficult is it today to find the list of names of those who will disembark?” He knew he shouldn’t snarl at Lance or at anybody, but he was tense. 

Lance double-checked his display and then turned around. “Looks like we don’t have to stop at Martiment at all.”

He didn’t even notice that the faces of the bridge crew members showed huge smiles. “What…what do you mean?”

“There are no names on the list.”

“That must be a mistake.” Arthur got up and went over to look at the display. “There must be something wrong with your console. Mithian, check.”

Mithian pulled up a report. “Negative, Sir.”

“What do you mean ‘negative’?”

She turned and grinned widely at him. “Nobody reported to disembark.”

“Nobody…”

Percy just entered the bridge. “Do you want us to stop at Martiment anyway? We don’t need supplies, we could just…” Percy made a gesture with his hand that indicated the ship just zipping away. 

Arthur needed a moment to process what he just heard. Not a single soul on this ship wanted to leave. They were all willing to sacrifice their careers. For him. For Merlin. They trusted their Captain. He had the best crew ever and he would miss them. 

“And…by the way…” Leon spoke up and tried to look as innocent as possible. “I’m not sure if it will be necessary for me to take command over the ship once we reached Merlin’s vessel.”

“What do you mean?” Leon wanted to stay on the ship, Leon had to take her back to Earth after he was gone, so…

“The Camelot needs her Captain to bring her to Ealdor, not me.” Leon grinned. 

“You…we’re…”

Morgana had just entered the bridge. “Yes, little brother, Captain, Sir.” She grinned. “We’re all going to Ealdor.”

Gwaine laughed. “Looks like we’re going on an adventure!”


	23. Chapter 23

They had two weeks. Two weeks in which Union Star Fleet thought they were on their way back to Earth. They might give them an additional two or three days before they would start trying to hunt them down. They would put this time to good use. 

After not having to stop at Martiment, the Camelot found its way to where Merlin’s vessel was still floating in space. It had been a mistake to not get as much data out of it as they could, but it had been their priority to rescue the sentient being. 

“Are you ready?” Arthur didn’t like that he had to let Merlin go out into space again, but he knew the controls of his little ship best and together with Gwen he had developed some devices so their data could communicate. ‘Just think of it as a data vacuum cleaner. It’s suck everything out of Merlin’s ship and we can read it here’ she had smiled proudly when she announced that in the briefing. Arthur didn’t need to understand more and hoped this would just be a quick thing.

Merlin nodded inside his space suit. “We bring stuff back.”

“You do that.” He gave Merlin a reassuring smile before he boarded the shuttle with Percy and two other crew members. Maybe they had left other things behind that was useful, but the most important things were the coordinates. 

As soon as the shuttle had started, Arthur went back to the bridge, listening to the communication coming from the shuttle crew. 

“Here we are.” That was Percy.

“Is odd.” Merlin, of course. 

“What is odd? Has something changed since we were here last?” His security officer tried not to sound alarmed. 

“No. Is just…odd be here again.”

Of course it must feel weird for Merlin to come back to the ship that had almost cost him his life and that he didn’t remember leaving. 

“Gentlemen, switch on your helmet cams.” Percy instructed. 

Soon, the big screen on the bridge divided into four smaller screens, showing what the shuttle crew saw as they set foot on Merlin’s ship. 

Merlin moved around with ease, he knew where everything was and found the gauge he needed to plug the data vacuum device in in no time. “Is here.”

“Does it fit, Merlin?” Gwen asked from where she watched in the engine room. 

They saw Merlin trying to plug it in, struggling a bit. 

“Thick glove is in way.”

“Don’t take it off!” Arthur knew it was ridiculous to say something like that.

“I know!” Merlin sounded annoyed and if he rolled his eyes, hard. “I is no cabbagehead!”

Even though they all watched with baited breath, Mithian chuckled. 

“Data coming in,” Gwen announced. 

While Merlin was busy getting the data, Percy and the other crew member tried to get as much cargo off the ship as the shuttle could possibly carry. Merlin had told them before where to find what, what things looked like and what he would like to take along. 

“That all. No more data left.” Merlin announced and unplugged the device when Gwen confirmed that everything had arrived on the Camelot. 

“Now come back.” Arthur still held his breath. He had been on that ship and it had been feeling weird. He wanted his crew back on board the Camelot quickly. 

The crew member took the last crate back to the shuttle, but Merlin still looked around. 

“Come on, Merlin, no stalling, these space suits don’t have air forever.” Percy tried to rush. 

Merlin couldn’t be rushed, though. He found the room that had been his quarters. It had a little bunk and a storage unit for his personal things. Opening the unit, he rummaged through what seemed to be old clothes before he found a small data unit and a piece of garment that he held onto. 

“Now can go.”

Percy exhaled audibly, showing how eager he was to get back to the shuttle. “Okay.” He nodded. “You got everything?” 

“Important things, yes.”

Percy was carrying the data vacuum back to the shuttle and Merlin held on to the last things he had grabbed from his quarters. 

Arthur didn’t even notice that he heaved out a sigh when everyone was back on the shuttle and well on their way back to the shuttle deck. 

+++

Arthur looked up when Merlin entered their quarters. “Hi.”

“Hello.” Merlin came over and pressed a kiss against Arthur’s temple. 

Reaching up, Arthur pulled Merlin into his lap. “Did you get everything you needed?”

Gwen and Gwaine had already analyzed the data with the help of Mithian’s language skills and a few of Merlin’s hints and they had set course to Ealdor. 

“Gots you.” Merlin grinned. “Is everything I needs.”

Sometimes Merlin said the sappiest things and Arthur didn’t know how to react, so he just smiled and stretched a bit to kiss Merlin. 

When they broke the kiss and just touched noses for a while, Arthur smiled. “You know…”

“What?”

“When we’re going to Ealdor, I will not understand a word anyone is saying.”

Merlin’s eyes got an excited shine. “Mithy and mine work on…little stuff you can put in ear.”

Arthur blinked. Something you could put in your ear? And then?

“Thing will hear Ealdor speak and tell you what says.”

“You…you are working on a translator?” Arthur had the feeling that his crew did a lot of things behind his back. 

“Yes, translator Mithy calls it. So…when you can’t speak Ealdor, you can understand Ealdor.”

“That…wow, that’s fantastic.” Arthur had feared that he would be totally dependent on Merlin interpreting back and forth, but this would leave him a bit of leeway to communicate on his own. 

“It is!” Merlin nodded excitedly. 

“But…Merlin…”

“Hm?” Merlin leaned against him and buried his face in his neck.

“I will still not be able to say anything. I mean…wouldn’t it be a lot politer if I knew the basics? Maybe just things like ‘hello’ or to introduce myself? Say ‘yes’, ‘no’ and ‘please’?” 

Merlin pulled back and a delighted smile spread on his face, so big that it looked as if the corners of his mouth touched his ears. “You wants to learn?”

“Yes.”

“Now?”

Arthur laughed. “Yes, now. But if you want to take a shower before, that’s fine, too.”

Merlin jumped up. “Yes, take a shower before. Needs to wash off space suit grime.” He bounced off to their bathroom and Arthur looked after him, chuckling. There was no such thing as space suit grime. Every crew member had their own space suit and they were cleaned and disinfected regularly. Even when they weren’t used and just needed to go through maintenance. Everyone who used a space suit needed to decontaminate as soon as they were back on the ship before they were allowed to leave the shuttle bay. 

Arthur wondered if one of the crew had helpfully ‘taught’ Merlin about ‘space suit grime’ or if it was something Merlin had just made up to go take a shower. 

When he heard that Merlin was almost done, he got two iced teas from the replicator and brought a display over to the coffee table. He had tried to get a basic understanding of Ealdorian words on his own, but the computer just interpreted, it didn’t teach. 

Merlin came back, wearing an old pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, his hair was still wet. Arthur had no idea where Merlin got these things from. They sure weren’t Star Fleet standard issues and anything that showed this rate of wear and tear would have been replaced immediately. 

Taking a long drag from his glass, Merlin smiled. 

“Oh, are you hungry? Do space walks make you hungry? I mean…” Arthur grinned, “hungrier than usual?”

Merlin laughed. “No, is fine. What’s that?”

“I…” Arthur chuckled. “I tried to understand your language with the help of the computer, but…” Arthur shrugged. “I failed.”

“Then I teach you.” Merlin put his glass down, turned to Arthur and smiled. “What you want learn first?”

“The cursewords?”

Laughing, Merlin shook his head. “No cursering!”

“Isn’t that the first thing you learn in a different language? The things that you are not supposed to use?”

“Yes, but no. We start at….”

They worked their way through the most basic things. Yes, no, please, thank you, hello, my name is etc. Merlin seemed to have a lot of fun hearing Arthur talk and corrected his pronunciation over and over again until Arthur was really frustrated. He was no linguist, he knew, but as long as it sounded halfways the same, Merlin could have mercy with him? Then again, he didn’t want to insult the entire planet by saying something wrong. 

After a while of teaching, Merlin developed a new method. He kissed Arthur every time he said something right. This way, Arthur added ‘husband’, ‘love’, ‘kiss’ and ‘forever’ to his vocabulary very quickly. When Merlin switched to fucking him over the back of the couch and tried to teach him all the dirty talk for that, Arthur knew he wouldn’t remember any of it, but he loved every second.


	24. Chapter 24

Union Star Fleet hadn’t bothered them again aside from the constant flow of memos that they usually got. Arthur suspected that would change dramatically once Star Fleet Command realized they were by no means on their way back to Earth. He would cross that bridge once they reached it. 

For now, he was busy trying to communicate in Ealdorian and most of the time, he failed miserably. He had a conglomeration of words but couldn’t form full sentences out of them yet. He hoped he would learn how to do that once they were on Ealdor. He had to. He couldn’t depend on Merlin to translate for him in everyday life for long. 

Tonight, he just wanted to spend time with his husband and asked the replicator for a small bunch of flowers, similar to those he had seen on the holo deck. It was sappy, but he knew that Merlin liked little things like these. To his surprise, the replicator presented the flowers already in a little earthen vase.

“What you doing?” Merlin came in. 

“I thought…you might like them.” Arthur held out the vase awkwardly. 

A wide smile showed on Merlin’s face and he said ‘thank you’ in Ealdorian and beamed wider when Arthur managed the matching ‘you’re welcome’. Then he taught him the word for flowers. Arthur had no idea if he would remember it if he ever needed it again, but he repeated it five times. 

“So, what do you want to do tonight?”

Merlin went to the desk and pulled up a display. 

“Work? Come on, didn’t you work hard enough? You brought new herbs that you took from your ship to Morgana and were busy coding all day with Mithian.”

Shaking his head, Merlin waved him over. “Needs to show you.”

Arthur stood behind the chair and watched Merlin connect what looked like a data unit in an adapter to the display. “Is that…”

“Gwen helps build this, so we can look.”

Wondering what Merlin would show him, Arthur saw a pictures of people show up on the screen. Merlin typed a few commands and they stopped just floating by. “You needs knowing who they are.”

When he saw the soft, longing expression on Merlin’s face, Arthur reached over and brushed a strand of hair behind Merlin’s ear. Not that it would stay there for long, Merlin’s hair couldn’t be tamed, but he knew Merlin liked the gesture and sometimes it calmed him down. “Tell me about them.”

The first photo Merlin drew up was that of a woman. Arthur didn’t need to be told who she was. She had the same kind smile that Merlin showed and her eyes were full of love. “Your mother.” He whispered. 

Merlin swallowed hard before he nodded. “Mine mam.” His eyes didn’t leave the display.

Arthur reached over, took Merlin’s hand and squeezed it slightly. “You’re going to see her again soon.”

“We go to mam first?”

“As soon as we’re on the planet, you’re in charge. I’ll just follow.” Arthur smiled. In all the weeks and months since they had found Merlin, he had never shown any sign that he might be homesick or miss his family. Arthur hadn’t even known that Merlin still had family on the planet. 

“Then we go to mam first.” Merlin leaned over and pressed a kiss on Arthur’s temple. “Needs to get…approvelence…?”

For a moment, Arthur pondered what Merlin tried to tell him. Then he laughed. “She needs to approve of me?”

“Yes, you needs ask her.” Merlin grinned.

“What…what do you mean?” The laugh fell out of Arthur’s face. Was there some long and complicated ritual to follow on Ealdor and he couldn’t be married to Merlin because he didn’t get his family’s approval first? Would Merlin’s mother hate him?”

Merlin looked so serious now. “Needs to ask mam if I can stay with you forever.”

There it was. Arthur paled and cold sweat started to build on his back. “You mean, we did this wrong? We can’t be together if your mother doesn’t agree?”

The moment, a mischievous smile showed on Merlin’s face, the weight of the world tumbled off of Arthur’s shoulders. “You sneaky little…”

Merlin leaned over and kissed him. “I picks you…mam is love you.”

Arthur knew he would do everything he could to make sure of that. 

They looked at other recordings of friends and places and Arthur started to look forward to his new life. 

+++

“You no needs all things.” Merlin shook his head when he saw Arthur packing another box. 

“Merlin…I would like to have all my personal belongings with me.” They were connections to a former life and he thought he might need them once in a while. 

“You needs them here, on Camelot.”

Stopping his packing in mid-motion, Arthur turned. “We won’t be coming back to the Camelot.” The thought alone still made his heart heavy and his throat tighten up. As much as he was looking forward to step into a new life with Merlin, it was a bit frightening. 

Merlin just smiled as if he knew it better, mumbled something about ‘go Mithy’ and left. 

Arthur looked around. He had spent the last years in these rooms and his life had changed so much in only a few months. Soon, someone else would occupy these quarters and see them as theirs, most likely Leon. And that was alright. It was the way things went. One captain left, a new one took over. And Leon would be perfect, he was long overdue for his own command. If it would still be on the Camelot after returning to Earth was questionable, but Union Star Fleet would see all his qualities and eventually give him his command. 

He would miss exploring space, Arthur knew that. But the explorer in him wanted to find out what Ealdor had to offer, too. Stepping up to the windows, Arthur looked out into space. 

Morgana came in. “Hey.”

“Hi.” He didn’t turn around. 

“Are you done packing?”

No, he wasn’t. Part of him wasn’t ready to let go. “Not yet.”

She stood next to him. “This is the bravest thing I’ve ever seen you do, little brother.”

“What?” They had been flying together since they were little, had taken many risks, been out in space, escaped dangerous situations over and over and she thought this was brave?

“Look at how far you’ve gotten. You were scared of emotions your entire life, covered them with reason all the time. And now you’re following your heart. I’m proud of you.”

Arthur swallowed hard. “It is the right thing to do now, isn’t it?”

Morgana giggled. “You’re doing it again.”

“What?”

“Reasoning.”

Arthur took a deep breath. “Am I doing the right thing?”

“Yes,” she answered without hesitation. “What would happen if you stayed? Merlin would want to go home and you’d be miserable without him. You would drag on every day and they’d promote you and send you back to Earth and you’d be stuck behind a desk for the rest of your life.”

“Ew.”

“Exactly. Go, be with Merlin, explore his world. Make it your home. Do what makes you happy.”

“Now you sound like a trite calendar saying.”

She smiled. “You will be okay there.”

Reaching over, he wrapped his arms around her and held her a little tighter than he intended. “I’ll miss you.”

“Oh, you really think I won’t come visit? Think again.” She didn’t pull back thought.

+++

They were close enough to Ealdor now to shuttle down to the surface and Arthur had made sure that all the boxes he needed – a lot more than Merlin told him he did but still a lot less than he had expected – were on the shuttle along with Merlin’s things. 

Arthur had used the past days to personally say his good-byes from the valued members of his crew and it hadn’t gotten easier. They had eaten one last meal at the mess hall, taken one last drink at Seven Below, visited the holo deck one last time. He had been on the bridge for the final time, running his hand over the soft leather on the back of the Captain’s chair and stepped up to the wide windows to admire space. It would be a long time until he would be able to do that again, if at all.

Now they stood in the shuttle hangar and the bridge crew, his friends, were assembled to see them off. Everyone had said a few words and Arthur only thought one thing ‘don’t cry, do not cry now!’ as he hugged one after the other. As he had stepped back he wanted to say so many things. Those people, his crew, his friends, had given up everything to make this happen for him and Merlin. All he got out was “Thank you.”, though. 

They saluted and when Arthur nodded courtly, he turned to Leon. “Take good care of her.”

“I will.” Leon nodded. 

Merlin had hugged everyone before and bounced into the shuttle, excited to go home. Now, he reappeared, dressed in a royal blue robe with fine silver embroidery. His stance seemed to have changed a bit, he walked a bit straighter and seemed to be taller. “Ealdor is waiting.”

With one last look at the crew that wasn’t his anymore, Arthur followed him up the ramp into the shuttle.


	25. Chapter 25

Arthur had never been so nervous in his entire life. Well, maybe on the day where he had stepped up to the committee to defend his thesis at the end of his time at the Academy. And definitely before he first had sex with a man, but all that seemed to have happened in another life. 

Ealdor was approaching fast and Merlin piloted the shuttle perfectly. The plan was to go to the little village his mother still lived in and pay her a first visit. Another reason to be really nervous. What if she hated him? Merlin had assured him over and over again that she would do no such thing, that she would be happy to have them there. 

“You open box.”

“Huh?”

“Box. Mithy gave you box.”

Oh. True. He had wondered what was inside but had promised to not open it before he had left the Camelot. Carefully, he lifted the lid and found an earpiece. “What is that?” Had she put all his favorite songs on it so he could listen to some Earth music when he felt like it?

“Put in ear.”

Arthur shrugged and shoved the little device in his ear. “Is this the translator thing you’ve been working on?”

“Does it work?” Merlin grinned.

Blinking, Arthur took it out again. “Say that again.”

Merlin said something in Ealdorian.

“You…you said it exactly like that before?” Arthur put the device in his ear again. 

“Yes.” 

Arthur knew that word from their lessons. 

“So this…it really translates for me?”

Merlin beamed widely. “Yes. We’ve been working on this for a while now. It might not be perfect yet, but at least you will understand what people around you are saying until you are a bit more fluent.”

“A bit more.” Arthur laughed. “I’m nowhere near fluent.”

“You will be.” Merlin reached over and squeezed his hand. 

“This…why couldn’t I thank Mithy while we were still on board?” This was the best present for the start into his new life ever. 

“She wants reports on how it’s working and will continue improving it.” 

It was so weird that he not only understood what Merlin was saying in his own language, but that he was capable of speaking in full sentences, too. Arthur had gotten so used to ‘Merlin-ish’ that he would certainly miss it. 

“This is fantastic.” All of a sudden, he felt a lot better. He would be able to understand and even though he still couldn’t really communicate, this would make it a lot easier. “Thank you so much.”

+++

The first day had gone by in a whirlwind and Arthur was thoroughly exhausted. Even though he wasn’t a representative of Union Star Fleet anymore, he had taken his uniform along. If he were honest, he didn’t have many civilian clothes and the uniform gave him a bit of moral back-up. 

Merlin had landed the shuttle near the village and that had drawn quite the attention. Before they even opened the ramp to disembark, some people had assembled. 

“Emrys!”

“Emrys is back!”

People had whispered in awe, some had bowed to Merlin, some had just come over and hugged him. 

What the hell was going on? Arthur was utterly confused and quite happy for the translation device in his ear. 

Some kids had run off to inform Merlin’s mother of their arrival and they all had accompanied them on their way there. 

Somehow, Arthur understood that the blue cloak that made Merlin’s eyes come out so perfectly, was the piece of garment Merlin had rescued from his ship. There were no other people in cloaks, they were all dressed in simple clothes, but nothing like that. It obviously gave Merlin some kind of authority or rather…emphasized it. Arthur knew he had a lot to learn. 

“Mam!”

As soon as the woman Arthur knew from the recording stepped out of her house, Merlin seemed to forget the walking-taller thing he’d been doing and just ran up to her to enfold her in a tight hug. 

Arthur stood about a bit awkwardly. Maybe he should have stayed back at the shuttle and let Merlin reunite with his mother first? He felt the villagers throwing him looks and he tried to give them his friendliest smile. 

“Is that him?”

“Quite handsome.”

“So Merlin found his man in the stars.”

Whispers around them. Arthur tried to fend the blush off his face. Maybe it was unfair that he could understand them without them knowing, but it was interesting nevertheless. 

“Merlin, look at you. Did you grow in space?” Merlin’s mother took his face between his hands and Arthur had never seen anyone smile wider. 

“Mam! I probably worked out a bit on the holo deck, but no, the gravity on the Camelot took care of none of us growing.”

Arthur stood by and smiled politely. It would take him a while to get used to Merlin speaking in full sentences, grammar and all. 

Finally, Merlin’s mother seemed to notice him. “And this is…?”

Merlin smiled proudly and held a hand out to Arthur. “Mam, this is Arthur Pendragon, my husband.”

Arthur took Merlin’s hand and nodded at his mother. “Madam, it’s a pleasure meeting you.” Then he realized that he had used his own language that she didn’t understand and repeated the sentence in Ealdorian. Bad Ealdorian, but they had practiced the phrase over and over again. 

“Oh,” she seemed to be delighted. “Welcome to Ealdor, welcome to my humble home and welcome to the family.”

“Thank you.” was all that Arthur could say before he and Merlin were ushered into the house. 

If he hadn’t been so nervous, he would have chuckled at how Merlin’s mother immediately decked out enough food to feed the entire crew of the Camelot. Must be a universal thing. He tried to help set the table and was a bit overwhelmed when he was made to pick out the tea they would have with the…Arthur’s translator didn’t know the word, but he figured it was some kind of cake. 

He smiled at Merlin once in a while when he sat close to him and pressed his knee against his under the table. 

Merlin’s mother asked him all kinds of things and with Merlin’s help, Arthur tried to answer. Yes, he did have a sister and no, no brothers; no, unfortunately his mother wasn’t with them anymore; yes, he liked the tea and what he had seen of Ealdor so far. 

“That wasn’t much yet.” She laughed. 

“No.” Arthur shrugged and looked at Merlin. “But I’m sure that Merlin will show me around.”

Merlin translated for him and his mother, seemed to be very pleased that he dropped an Ealdorian word or two in the mix once in a while. 

Arthur didn’t have too much time to look around, but what he saw didn’t look too much different from what he knew from other planets. It made sense that humanoid life forms sooner or later developed a lot of similar things and even though the shapes and forms were a bit different, a chair was still a chair and a table still a table. 

They talked for hours, or rather, Merlin and his mother talked for hours after Arthur’s vocabulary was exhausted but she never forgot to include him in the conversation somehow and made him eat a lot more than he actually wanted. 

“I think it’s time to go,” Merlin finally announced. 

“Already? You must be tired.” Her eyes sparkled. “Or you have better things to do than to entertain an old woman.” She got up. “Let me pack you some of the food. I’m certain they got your house ready, but I don’t trust them with the fridge.”

Arthur wondered who they were and why they would get Merlin’s house ready, but he was too tired to ask. 

Merlin protested the big bag with food, but he didn’t stand a chance against her. 

“You probably will have no time to go do some grocery shopping. Everybody wants to see you again, Merlin and everyone is waiting to meet you, Arthur. So take this.”

“Thank you, Madam.” Arthur smiled.

“Oh, enough of this ‘madam’ stuff. Call me Hunith.” She hugged them both tight before she let them go. 

Merlin had led him through a couple of pathways and streets until they stood in front of a house that was a lot bigger than Hunith’s. 

“She no want to live here.” Merlin shrugged and had switched back to Arthur’s language.

“That’s your house?”

“That is house of…yes. I do lives here.”

“When you’re not up in the stars, searching for your man.” Arthur smiled. He had heard that phrase quite often today. 

“No need anymore. Founds you.” 

The doors opened as Merlin stepped near and he pulled Arthur into to the house. It was large and cool and the air felt a bit stale, as if nobody had lived here for a while. 

“They no prepared all house.” Merlin shrugged. “No matters. Is good enough, they no my servants.”

“Who?” Arthur looked around. The house was bigger than Hunith’s and in the entrance someone seemed to have fought a battle against Merlin’s clutter while he hadn’t been there. There was an interesting array of jackets and coats and a mixture of boots and something that could be sneakers.

Merlin took his cloak off and threw it over the handrail of the stairs. “People looking after house while I gone.”

Merlin hadn’t said ‘my friends’ or even ‘my mother’, it was ‘people’. Arthur intended to find out who those people were who could go in and out of Merlin’s house while he was gone. 

“Gets food into cooling…fridge, then shows you house.” Merlin wandered off in one direction and Arthur just followed. It would have felt odd to just stand in the entrance and wait for Merlin to come back. 

Merlin gave him a little tour of the most important rooms and Arthur lost track of where in the house they were. He had the feeling that there was a large part that they hadn’t set foot in, but he didn’t really care. 

So this was where Merlin lived before he had left the planet. Arthur tried to bite back a smile. Merlin had managed to clutter his quarters on the Camelot in no time and it looked just like that here. This was Merlin. There were plants in pots everywhere and boxes that looked as if Merlin had brought them when he moved in but never unpacked them, there were gadgets on shelves and photo frames that showed footage of people that Merlin knew. Arthur recognized some from the data unit Merlin had shown him. 

“This is bedroom.” It looked as if Merlin intended to end the tour here. 

The room was held in a nice, calming light blue and it looked as if the big bed was freshly made. A chair in the corner, a nightstand. All in the same forms and shapes he had seen in Hunith’s house, but unmistakably a bedroom. 

“It’s nice.” Arthur stepped up to the window and looked outside. “And you have a big garden.” The plants looked a lot like the ones Arthur remembered from the holo deck. 

“Yes, is important to get close to plants…nature.” Merlin stepped up behind him, wrapped his arms around his waist and nuzzled into his neck. “You tired.”

“A bit. It was an exciting day.” Arthur leaned back.

“Then let’s go bed and sleeps.”

They stood like that for a while longer and Arthur thought he should have felt odd, being in this new environment, knowing he would stay here. He just felt calm.


	26. Chapter 26

Arthur stretched and grumbled when he woke up. Something was different. Carefully, he opened one eye to check his surroundings. Oh, true, he was in Merlin’s bed which was in Merlin’s house on Ealdor. But where was Merlin?

The door opened and Merlin came in, carrying a little tray with something that smelled wonderful. “Good morning.”

“Morning.” Arthur smiled and scrambled up a bit. 

“You hungry?”

“After everything your mom fed us yesterday? Not really.”

Merlin laughed. “You needs eat.” He put the tray down and climbed on the bed again to kiss Arthur. “How you sleeps?”

“Good. It was like…I don’t know…recharging my batteries.” Arthur held on to Merlin a moment longer and kissed him again. 

Merlin ran his hand over Arthur’s shoulder and down his arm before he touched his chest. “You awake enough?” His eyes twinkled with mischief. 

“What do you have in mind?” Arthur grinned. 

“Things!” Merlin chuckled and dove in for another kiss.

Breakfast forgotten, Merlin made love to him, gently preparing him and then having slow sex that drove Arthur crazy. When he finally caught his breath again, he had an arm around Merlin’s shoulder and Merlin’s head on his, nuzzling into his hair, caressing Merlin’s ear with the pad of his thumb where he could reach it. 

Merlin shivered. 

None of the people they had met the previous day had ears like Merlin. They all had that little pointy tip at the top end, but none of them had sticking out ears like that. Arthur had imagined that everyone on the planet would look like Merlin, but they weren’t. Merlin was special. Deep in thought, he ran the tip of his thumb over the upper rim of the ear again. 

Again, Merlin shivered. “Arthur…”

What was going on?

“What? Are you okay?”

“Mhmmm.” Merlin snuggled against him like a content cat. “Just…when you do with your finger…”

“Oh, this?” He repeated the motion and Merlin pressed against him. He was starting to harden again. “Oh.”

Merlin chuckled. “Is what happens.”

“You’re…this is so sensitive that you….?” How had he never noticed before?

Nodding, Merlin grinned up at him. “Is more when here on Ealdor. Was not so much on Camelot.”

“So your ears are so sensitive that when I touch them…this happens?” He wiggled a bit against Merlin’s hard-on. 

“Only happens when everything is right.” Merlin drew lazy patterns on Arthur’s chest with the tips of his fingers. 

They lay in silence for a while.

“You’re home now.”

He could feel Merlin smile against his chest. “Yes.”

“So…” Arthur ran his finger across the rim of Merlin’s ear again and grinned. “Are we going to do something about this or…”

Merlin already scrambled up and laughed. “Thinked you never ask.”

+++

It was way after noon until they finally made it out of bed, took a shower together and then had some food which seemed to miraculously appear in the kitchen. Even though the things were different from what he knew, Arthur had been on so many planets and tried so many different dishes that this was part of the exploration of Ealdor. 

“So, what are we going to do today?” Arthur had so many questions. About this house, about who Merlin was for the people of Ealdor and what his duties around here might be. 

“Thought we go main city, get you registers, have official paper.” Merlin grinned. 

“Good thing I brought my IDs, then.”

On the way to the main city Arthur saw some of the great landscape Merlin had shown him in the holo deck, but his mind once again was in for something new when he saw the city. The village Hunith lived in and where Merlin had his house seemed to be so rural that it was hard to believe that the city was a vibrant modern place that wasn’t too different from the main cities of other planets. 

They parked the vehicle behind a tall building and Merlin led the way. 

Some people seemed to recognize Merlin, some nodded at them, some even bowed deeply. Each time this happened, Merlin made a dismissive gesture and shook his head. 

“Merlin?” Arthur was used to getting shown respect, but this was a bit too much. What did Merlin do that warranted this behaviour?

“We here.” Merlin opened a door and let Arthur into what seemed to be an office. 

The process of getting registered and then getting an official marriage certificate – or the Ealdorian equivalent of it – took the entire afternoon. It was like everyone they talked to was in awe when they saw Merlin, but wary of him. So that was what it felt like to be the alien. With the help of the translator in his ear, Arthur managed to follow most of the conversation. 

After they were done with he official part, Merlin dragged him through the shops and in the end, they hauled quite a few bags of Ealdorian clothes back to their vehicle. 

“Merlin, you shouldn’t have.”

“You gives me clothes on Camelot, I gives you clothes here.” Merlin grinned. “You sticksed out like thor thumb with Camelot clothes.”

Arthur chuckled. “Thank you. I thought this pair of jeans and this t-shirt were quite fetching, but…” He had to admit that the way Ealdorians dressed wasn’t too different from what he was used to. They had seen a few in long robes, wearing cloaks with various embroideries on them, but others wore almost the same things like on most other planets. If it made Merlin happy that he wore garments that were produced on his planet, he would do it. 

“You always look good.” Merlin leaned over and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek when they loaded the bags into the back of the vehicle. 

“Thank you. And thanks for the things.”

Merlin drove them around for a while, explaining the different buildings and sights, but Arthur forgot all about them right away. 

“What?” Merlin smiled when he noticed Arthur watching closely as his fingers glid over the displays to maneuver the vehicle. 

“You need to teach me how to drive this thing.”

“Is no much different from shuttle.”

“I see, but what does this do?” Arthur pointed.

Merlin made it out of the city and found some open space where he set the vehicle down. “Switch seats.”

“Really?” Arthur couldn’t keep the excited smile off his face. He had meant for Merlin to show him how to drive this some time in the near future, so he could use it and explore the planet when Merlin was busy. “Now?”

“Yes, now.” Merlin got up and gestured toward the driver’s seat. 

Arthur sat down and looked around. He had always been happy when he could learn how to drive or fly new things and he felt like being seven years again and the instructor father had hired showing him how to fly his first hover-hicle. 

Patiently, Merlin explained the displays and Arthur tried it out very carefully. After a while, he got the hang of it and zoomed up and down the open field. 

Laughing, Merlin seemed to enjoy the situation. “Maybe we go back to house? Is getting late.”

“Want to drive?” Arthur threw Merlin a look that clearly said that he wouldn’t give up the controls voluntarily. 

Merlin shook his head. “You drive. Make no accident!”

+++

Arthur made it back to the house with a few of Merlin’s instructions and later, they sat on the patio, looking out into the Ealdorian sunset with cool drinks. 

“Merlin?”

“Hm?”

It was nice to see Merlin so relaxed in his own environment. He had just slipped back into the life he’d left behind. 

“Can I ask you something?”

“Asks me anything you wants.” Merlin smiled. 

“Who are you?”


	27. Chapter 27

“What you mean? I’m Merlin.”

Arthur looked at him for a while. “Yes, but you come on board and you seem to be the boy from next door, just with extraordinary skills and intuitively understanding our technology. Sometimes you did things that looked like magic. The thing you do when you…” Arthur blushed slightly “come really hard. The glowing of your eyes….and now we come here and they treat you like royalty.”

Merlin listened. 

“You live in this gigantic house and people on the streets bow to you…they all seem to be in awe when they see you and just because it’s you, they register me as a citizen on this planet and give us the certificate…Merlin…I’m…confused.” There, he said it. Arthur knew he should have asked sooner, that he probably should have inquired about the skills and magic-looking things Merlin did back on the Camelot. 

“You no likes the house?”

“Merlin, that’s not the point. It’s…your house apparently, but…what do you do for a living? How do you pay for all this? It seems as if there are people going in and out of the house that I haven’t seen yet and who don’t want to be seen. I’m trying to understand.”

Merlin nodded. “Alright.” He sat up in his lounge chair, both feet on opposite sides and looked at Arthur. “You sayed correct word.”

“I just said a lot of words…”

“Magic.” Merlin smiled at him as if that explained everything. 

“Magic.” Yeah, right. As if something like that existed. Then again, he had seen Merlin do things that couldn’t be explained. 

“For you, magic…for me, connection.” Merlin took a deep breath. “Maybe you wants put ear translator in? Is easier to say in Ealdorian.”

Arthur nodded and put the little earbud in. 

Merlin waited for him to be done before he continued. “Some of us here are born with an extra…set of abilities, if you want to put it like that. We are connected with the planet, with every living thing and can draw our energy from that. You might call it magic, for me it’s natural. I can feel everything around us, I can feel your presence, but I also feel every blade of grass here moving.” When he saw Arthur’s face, he chuckled. “No, it’s not distracting. I don’t know it any other way, I was born with this. It would feel strange if it were gone all of a sudden. And the same way I am connected to every living thing, I have the ability to sense technology. It’s the same kind of connection. I used it when the engine of the Camelot was off, I used it to open doors, I can use it to fly the shuttle and drive the vehicle.”

That was a lot to digest. Merlin had magic. Or something that could be called that. Percy would have a ball if he found out that all the security measures on the Camelot could easily be bypassed with magic. And…what did it feel like to feel the presence of every moving thing around you? And…

“That’s why people bow to you and bring you food to your house?”

Merlin chuckled. “No. There are lots of people with magic. I just happen to be the most powerful of them all.”

Arthur stared and that his mouth was open probably didn’t give him the best of looks. “So…you’re the wizard king?”

Now Merlin laughed. “No, I have no legal powers over anyone, nor would I want that. People who have magic are called Druids here. They have been waiting for me to be born for hundreds of years and now that I’m here, they look to me for advice. I did not want a house this big, but they gave it to me to live in. I didn’t ask them to keep it clean or bring freshly made food or groceries, but it frees up my time to work for them.”

“So you’re their guru? What is this work?”

“Things like…negotiations with non-sorcerers. Working with the government to weave magic and non-magic folk closer together, to work together instead of against each other.”

“So you’re…a spiritual leader and head negotiator?”

Merlin shrugged. “If you want to put it that way.”

Arthur didn’t say anything for a long time. He had been so wrong thinking that Merlin was just a country boy. He was more powerful than he could wrap his head around and people acknowledged this power and paid it respect, even though he had the feeling that Merlin didn’t like those gestures too much. 

“On Oggendere…” Arthur started, remembering the look on that scum’s face when he heard the name.

“Hm?”

“You know, when Gwaine and I were trying to get a marriage certificate.”

Merlin raised an eyebrow. 

“That…person…when he heard your name, he asked ‘THE Merlin Emrys?’…how comes that you are known beyond the boundaries of Ealdor?”

Merlin’s lips turned up in a small smile. “Arthur, there’s magic in the universe, everywhere. Not only on Ealdor.”

Once again, Arthur stared. So Merlin wasn’t only the most powerful wizard on Ealdor, but in the entire fricking universe? 

“I…I thought Ealdor didn’t have relationships with other planets?”

“While our government didn’t actively seek it so far, single ships have found us. Mostly smugglers and stranded souls. That’s how we know about other magic users on planets far away.”

Smugglers, so it made sense that they had run into someone in a place like Oggendere that had heard Merlin’s name before. 

All this was a lot of news. He had seen Merlin in the wrong light. A light that Merlin hadn’t corrected. Then again, they had never spoken about any of this, so Merlin hadn’t lied to him. Arthur needed to work on that. “What else is there that you haven’t told me yet?”

Merlin chuckled, got up and came over to straddle Arthur. “Everything at its time.”

“So there’s more?”

“Probably, but it’s so normal to me that you need to tell me when you need some explanations.” He gently put his hand on Arthur’s cheek.

“It’s all so…new…strange…”

“You’ll get used to it.”

“And meanwhile?” What kind of surprises would this planet and his husband reveal to him in the future?

“Let me love you.”

+++

The next couple of days were fill with more exploring of the planet and with more questions. Arthur bumped into a couple of the people coming to the house and they showed the same behaviour as the people in the streets when they saw Merlin. Arthur was used to being acknowledged when he walked the decks of the Camelot, but nobody had ever bowed to him. Not even on one of his official missions. He tried to tell them they didn’t have to bow to him, he wasn’t special because he was Merlin’s husband, but either they didn’t understand or they didn’t care. It made him feel uncomfortable, so he tried to learn more of the language with the help of the displays around the house. 

Sometimes Merlin had to go consult with someone, sometimes someone showed up and needed some advice and Merlin never turned them away, so Arthur spent quite a bit of time on his own. In the beginning, he wondered if he would quickly get bored, but he found out that it still felt like being on vacation. Maybe he had been on board of a ship for too long. His last vacation was more than two years in the past, so he decided to just enjoy his time off and to get used to Ealdor and its inhabitants. Arthur knew that he would have to find something to do at some point. He couldn’t just sit around all day, letting others do the work without being responsible for anything. That just wasn’t him. For now, he didn’t mind putting his feet up on the lounge chair in the warm afternoon breeze and listen to the sounds surrounding him, though.

He startled when someone cleared his throat. Opening his eyes against the late afternoon sun, he squinted to make out a figure standing in the doorway. It seemed to be an old man in long rough linen robe, his white hair touching his shoulders. “Hello,” he greeted the newcomer in Ealdorian and felt around for his earbud on the table. 

“Greetings,” the man replied. 

“Can I help you?” That was a phrase he had learned in the past days.

The man smiled. “I am here to help you.”

“Yes?” Arthur sat up a bit straighter. 

“My name is Gaius and Merlin asked me to help you with your language studies.” 

Since Merlin was quite busy and usually people in the house shied away from him or at least kept a respectful distance, he had been mostly on his own with trying to expand his vocabulary. 

“Merlin hasn’t mentioned that you were coming.”

“So you don’t want to learn?”

Arthur almost chuckled. This was the first person on this planet who didn’t bend backwards in order to accommodate him, well, probably aside from Merlin’s mother, but that was different. “Of course I do.” He gestured to the chair across the little table. “Can I get you something to drink?”

The old man shuffled over and made himself comfortable in the chair. “A clogamora would be nice.”

Arthur got up. “Alright.” He had no idea what that was. “Do you take it with cream and sugar?”

Gaius shook his head slightly, the small smile on his face widening. “Just as it comes.”

That didn’t take him any further. But as he lived here now, he would be a good host and try to find out what this beverage was and get it for the man. “I’ll be right back.” What could it be? The cream and sugar had been a shot in the dark. What if this was a word that didn’t even exist in Ealdorian? Or something that wasn’t easy to get or so complicated to make that he wouldn’t be able to do it?He had to find out what it was first. 

To his utter relief, there was a young woman in the kitchen, just arranging some fruit in a basket. She turned when he came in, froze and just stared. 

“Please…” Fuck, his language skills weren’t sufficient. “Clogmora?” Now he knew how Merlin felt when he first came on board the Camelot. Then again, Merlin was a much faster learner than him and probably felt his way through the language with his magic. 

“Clogamora?” She asked. 

“That’s what he wants!” Arthur exhaled in relief. “For Gaius.”

“A clogamora for Master Gaius?” She smiled carefully and Arthur was happy to still wear his earbud. 

“Yes,” he said in Ealdorian. “Please.”

“Would you like one, too?” She smiled at him. 

Arthur looked unsure. He was all for trying new things, but… “I don’t know what it is.”

She just looked at him.

“No…know.” He finally got out in her language. 

She nodded and started fixing what looked like a tea.

“You might want to go back to Master Gaius, Master. I’ll bring you the clogamora.”

“You’re really saving my behind. Thank you.”

She looked at him questioningly. 

“Thank you.” He repeated in her language. 

Smiling widely, she turned back to fixing the drinks and Arthur knew he was dismissed, so he wandered back to the patio.

“There was a woman in the kitchen. She will bring us the clogamora.”

Gaius raised an eyebrow and that was really impressive. “You will not always have people who help you out.”

Arthur, who had been rather proud of himself for being able to make her understand what he wanted, felt like a little schoolboy who got scolded. “That’s why I need to learn more.”

That answer seemed to appease Gaius. The eyebrow sank considerably lower and he gestured towards the chair Arthur had vacated. “Then let’s start by taking this thing out of your ear.”

Taking a deep breath, Arthur did so, but still held on to it. It was his lifeline. He was lost without it. Even though he was still unable to express himself properly, with this little device, he at least understood what was being said. Now, he felt naked. 

Gaius smiled and immediately started teaching. He had a few, seemingly kind, words for the young woman who shyly approached them with a tray and the drinks, but otherwise, bombarded Arthur with words that didn’t make much sense to him. 

“Alright, this is worse than I thought.” Gaius still smiled and Arthur didn’t understand a word. 

It got a bit easier when Gaius started pointing at things and made him repeat the words he said. 

After about an hour, Arthur had learned the words for ‘mug’, ‘spoon’, ‘tray’, ‘table’ and many more he was sure he would forget again as soon as Gaius was gone. This was a lot more exhausting than he thought it would be. 

When Gaius finished the rest of his clogamora, which seemed to be a very common kind of tea and was surprisingly refreshing and tasty, he seemed to be content. He gestured to the translating device and Arthur put it in again. 

“At least now we know where we stand. I will work on a concept that picks up from there and we will work every day.”

Every day? Didn’t they have something like the weekend here?

“What I ask you to do is…use all your vocabulary, don’t rely on your translator. Mix languages. In the beginning, you will only be able to substitute some words with Ealdorian. The further we get, the better you will be.”

“I was never good with languages.” Arthur shrugged. 

The eyebrow was on its way up again.

Arthur understood and replaced ‘I’ and ‘good’ with what he knew and to his relief the eyebrow came down again and Gaius smiles. 

“You keep doing that and we will have you fluent in no time.” The look on the man’s face showed that he had the feeling it would be a very long time instead of no time, but that he didn’t consider him a lost case yet. 

Gaius got up. “Thank you very much for the clogamora and your time,” something followed that sounded like when Merlin had rattled down his titles at their wedding in Ealdorian and not even the translator knew what to make of it. 

Getting up as well, Arthur nodded. “Thank you for yours. I appreciate every help I can get.” He already replaced some of the words with Ealdorian vocabulary and the smile on Gaius’ face widened. 

“I will see you tomorrow, my boy. I’ll find my way out.”

When Gaius was gone, Arthur sank back into the chair. It would have been nice if Merlin had given him a warning, but maybe Gaius was like all the others that came to this house, just being there, doing their thing to help their wizard king? Arthur hadn’t even noticed how isolated he had been and that he was lost without the help of the translator. He needed to work hard on this, so he would be able to communicate and wouldn’t be so dependent on either Merlin or the device. That way, the people of Ealdor would probably accept him a lot sooner as the appropriate consort for their spiritual leader. He knew, he couldn’t find his place and be productive if he couldn’t speak to the people around him. And he would probably find out more about this planet and its social structures when he finally understood what was being said.


	28. Chapter 28

Arthur sighed. It had been a really hot summer day on Ealdor and he felt restless. He had gotten a few messages from the Camelot, mostly from Mithy, asking about the translator, but that had been weeks ago. He tried to tell himself that this was exactly how he wanted it and that he was happy, but despite the ruthless language lessons from Gaius and occasional visits at Hunith’s, there wasn’t much to do for him. He watched a lot of the equivalent of TV and sometimes he was happy that someone talked in the background when Merlin was gone for days on end. It wasn’t that he just vanished, no, he told him where he went and what he would do there, but of course, he couldn’t come along. Yet. 

“You okay?” Merlin nuzzled into his hair where they sat on the couch, Arthur with his back against Merlin’s chest. 

“Yes…kind of…” Arthur wasn’t sure. He was just in a weird mood. 

“I’m sorry.” Merlin murmured. 

Frowning, Arthur looked around. “What for?”

“I took you from your friends and brought you here where I’m busy and you have nothing to do.” Merlin looked miserable. 

“Well, first of all, you didn’t take me from my friends, it was my own decision. And of course you are busy, you have a life here and I have to slowly build one. From scratch.” It sounded so reasonable when he said it. It just wasn’t what he felt like. 

“You miss them.”

It wasn’t a question. And of course, Merlin was right. He missed his crew, his friends, the daily routine he was so used to. In the beginning, with the Camelot still visible on the night sky, it wasn’t too bad. He still had the option to go back if he wanted to. Not that he wanted to. But now, that the Camelot was gone, on her way back to Earth, Arthur felt a bit lost. Ealdor was a lot more advanced than he had initially thought and even though they had built Merlin’s ship, they weren’t far enough to build anything like the Camelot. He would probably never see his home planet again. Instead of answering, Arthur swallowed hard. 

“Just…give me something to do.”

They had been through this discussion before. He needed to get more fluent in the language as there were parts of the Druid community who didn’t trust him fully because he couldn’t communicate. Arthur understood that. It would also be deadly boring to sit in meetings without even being able to follow the conversation. So he tried to learn everything that Gaius tried to teach him, just not fast enough. 

He had tried to take care of the house for a while. Arthur didn’t see himself as a home maker but in the Academy he had learned to make a bed and keep a room neat. In the first years of being assigned to different ships, before he had gotten his own command, he had to take care of his own quarters. Only since he had been promoted and had become the Captain of the Camelot, he didn’t have to do this anymore. Turned out, he didn’t have to do this around this house either. There were always people who kept it neat and clean and whenever he at least tried to make a sandwich, someone appeared to do it for him. 

Merlin nodded. “I have been absent too long.”

Arthur wasn’t sure if he meant from the planet or from the house since they were back. 

“A lot of things need my attention and I failed my husband. I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t fail me. You have a duty and I respect that. People are looking up to you and you do your best to help them. But…where am I in all of that? Where’s my duty? How can I contribute?”

Merlin pulled him closer. “It will take a while before you can contribute. You are doing great, don’t worry.”

“I’m not learning fast enough.” Arthur was frustrated. With the situation, with everything and mostly with himself. 

Sitting up a bit straighter, Merlin smiled. “I know what we are going to do now.”

Arthur groaned. “As much as I love you, I can barely walk since you took me three times this morning.” He loved sex with Merlin, but it wasn’t always the answer. 

Merlin chuckled. “Not that. Come on, get up.”

“Where are we going?”

“Just come along.”

Arthur knew that he could either stay on the couch, moping or follow Merlin and probably learn something new about the planet. He would never forget that first night when Merlin had dragged him up a steep hill to watch the moons of Ealdor rising. He had seen quite a few things on his travels, but this had been different. It was like the moons recognized them and nodded at them. “Are we going to watch the moons again?”

Merlin shook his head and just gestured for him to come along as he already stood in the patio doors. 

About half an hour later, Arthur wondered if Merlin just wanted to make him tired enough so he would stop complaining. “Where are we going?” 

“Shhhh.” Merlin held a branch out of the way, so Arthur could pass but then held him back with his arm in front of his chest. “Look.”

It had gotten dark, but the clearing before them was lit by the moons. Which in itself was really nice, Arthur had to admit, but if Merlin had dragged him out here just for that….Then he saw it. A little white creature with wings ran back and forth over the clearing like a puppy, playfully chasing something he couldn’t see. “What…is it?”

“Aithusa.” Merlin smiled, his eyes not leaving the creature.

“What is an Aithusa?” 

“That’s her name. Aithusa is a dragon.”

Arthur blinked. Since the space dragon and the following discussion, he had kind of…forgotten about them. Not really forgotten, but he had shoved the thought of dragons and Merlin claiming to be a dragon lord far back in his mind. “I…I didn’t think….”

“That Ealdor has dragons?” Merlin chuckled. “How else would I have found out that I’m a dragon lord?”

The creature stopped and turned its head. It was almost as if its eyes lit up when it recognized Merlin and came over in a jump/hop/fly-kind of motion. Arthur backed away a bit. 

“Don’t. Aithusa won’t do you no harm. Let me introduce you.” Merlin held out his hand and the dragon sniffed it before it came even closer and tried to lick Merlin’s face. Laughing, Merlin pushed it away a bit. He said something in yet another language that Arthur didn’t understand, but it was clearly different from the Ealdorian he usually spoke. 

Arthur held his breath when the dragon turned its attention towards him. “Err…hi?”

That seemed to confused the creature, who turned back to Merlin, who laughed and said something. 

“Are you two laughing about me?”

“Does it look like it?” Merlin grinned. 

“It definitely does.”

“Then we probably are.” Laughing, Merlin said something the beast. 

Aithusa carefully came closer and then just nudged Arthur into the stomach with her snout. “Hey!”

“She wants to play with you.”

“Playing with a dragon? To end up as dragon fodder?”

Merlin shook his head. “She only eats plants, don’t worry. She likes you, she wants to play with you.”

An hour later, Arthur tumbled down in the grass, laughing. The dragon was a lot like a puppy and they had played tag until he was all out of breath, lacking the ability to fly, and now she stood next to him, looking at him expectantly. “I’m done, Aithusa. You wore me out.” He stretched his hand out and caressed her nose that was surprisingly soft and not cold and scaly like he had expected. 

It didn’t take long before the little dragon had curled up next to him and Arthur wondered where his bad mood had gone. He had Merlin to one side, a dragon on the other and looked up into the Ealdorian night sky with its moons and knew he should never have doubted his decision to come here.


	29. Chapter 29

Arthur still wasn’t very fluent and was frustrated each time Gaius corrected something that he should know how to say. Slowly, it got a bit easier, though, to let the people who constantly came to the house know what he wanted. He was far from being able to hold a basic conversation, but he didn’t feel as helpless as before. 

Merlin was on one of his Druid-things again and Gaius had encouraged him to engage in interaction with the locals, so Arthur took a deep breath and climbed into their vehicle. He hadn’t flown it without Merlin by his side, but he was determined to go to the city and spend some time there. Alright, what was that again? Put your hand here….and gently touch this display and….the vehicle came to life. Carefully Arthur made it down the road and he gained more confidence the further he got. The city was a whole different thing, though. There was a lot of traffic and more than once someone honked their horn at him. Obviously that was something that was universal. 

He found a parking spot where he had parked with Merlin and felt a bit relieved when he finally could step out. The energy pumping through him was something he hadn’t felt in a while, though. That he had managed to get this far on his own meant a piece of independence, something he had missed for far too long. Straightening his shoulders, he turned to where he knew the shops were. 

Arthur had no intention of buying anything at all, he just wanted to go for a stroll to finally see something else than just the house and to find out if he would be able to read some of the signs and get a drink if he was thirsty. 

An hour later, he finally understood why Merlin had been so keen on going to planets’ surfaces and finding all the markets. You could learn a lot about the people when you looked at the wares they were selling and the way they treated each other. Ealdor wasn’t much different in that. The main shopping area of this district had the usual fashion shops – if he could ever get used to the fashion was another thought to ponder – shoe stores, there was the normal array of snack shops, some shops sold decorations, some electronics and some things that Arthur had no idea what they were. He needed to ask Merlin about it. 

Absentmindedly he reached for his chest but his fingers just touched fabric, not the communicator that he had worn there for so many years that it had almost become part of his body. Frowning at himself, Arthur bit his lower lip on the inside. If he wanted to be part of this community, he needed to stop behaving like a foreigner. He would ask Gaius for advice on how to communicate over distances. There had to be something like an old-fashioned smartphone here at least, right?

When he found a little place that looked like any other small café in the universe, Arthur took a deep breath an entered. He answered when he was greeted by the person behind the bar, smiled at them and looked at the panel over their heads that had a neat handwriting on it with the most popular drinks. After staring at it for a moment, Arthur realized this was just as complicated as on every other planet, where you had to wade through at least a hundred decisions if you just wanted a coffee. 

“What can I do for you? Found anything you like?”

Maybe he should leave the experimenting for another time. Now, he was thirsty. “One clogamora, please.”

He knew he should have known that he would be overwhelmed with the questions the barista rattled down. He hadn’t known that there were so many different ways of having a simple clogamora! 

When the barista looked at him expectantly, he just added. “Big.”

“You’re not from around here, are you?” The barista chatted. 

“No, but…I try.”

Arthur hadn’t needed any money before, but Merlin had given him some a few weeks ago and explained the different bills and coins. The Union didn’t use cash anymore, everything went electronically, so it felt odd and rather old-fashioned. Arthur needed a moment to get the right bill and held it out to the barista. There was a jar on the counter that held lots of coins and some smaller bills, so he just put the change into the jar. 

“Oh, Sir, that’s very generous of you. Thank you! If you need anything else, just let me know.”

Taking his mug, Arthur nodded. “Thank you.” He found a seat close to the window, so he could watch what was going on outside. 

When he was done and decided it was time to go back, he nodded at the barista, took a little detour via a street market where he bought a fruit he’d never seen before and made it back to the vehicle. He couldn’t wait to tell Merlin about his adventure. 

“Arthur?” 

As he came closer to the house, he heard Merlin’s voice in his head and he sounded worried. “What’s wrong?” He said it out loud and hoped that Merlin noticed that he had reacted. 

“Where are you?”

“Down the street, I’ll be at the house in a few.” 

When he made it back, he climbed out and took the fruit from the back seat. He was in a very good mood, ready to tell Merlin everything about his adventure. 

Merlin ran towards him and threw his arms around his neck. 

“Merlin? What’s wrong?”

Sighing a breath of relief, Merlin held on to him a bit longer. “I couldn’t find you.”

“I was just in the city for a bit, trying out my language skills and I didn’t do too good.” Arthur laughed. 

Over Merlin’s shoulder he saw the people who usually came to the house, all of them throwing him dark looks and frowns. 

“What is going on here?”

Slowly, Merlin let go. “Come.” He took him by the wrist and dragged him along to their private rooms. “I thought you were gone.”

“Gone?” Why would he be gone? Where would he go to to be gone?

“I couldn’t feel you anymore.” Merlin looked at him with large, sad eyes. 

“I…” Arthur blinked. “I thought you could reach out with your magic or something?”

“As long as you haven’t accepted your function, that only works within a certain radius. Our connection is strong, but I lost you in the city. There are so many people.”

“Function?” Arthur didn’t know what to make of it. “What are you keeping from me, Merlin. Come on, speak to me. I just went on a little trip to the city to practice my language skills, like Gaius had suggested. You weren’t around, nobody was, so I just left, yes. But now I’m back.” He took a deep breath. “Don’t you trust me?”

Merlin shook his head. “It’s not you I don’t trust.”

“Then…talk to me. You’re constantly gone on your magic duty things and I’m left here at the house with nothing to do. When I ask you about that, you get all mysterious and distract me with other things. I thought I was doing the right thing, spreading my radius and making it through the city on my own. Do you really want me to be chained to this house forever?” Arthur jumped up and started to pace. “And who is it that you don’t trust? Are we in danger? How can I do something about that if I don’t know that it’s there?” His good mood was totally gone and Arthur was just frustrated. “What are you keeping from me, Merlin?”

Grabbing his wrist as he paced by, Merlin made him stop. “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner.” He looked sad. “Everybody here was worried about you. You didn’t tell anyone, you didn’t leave a note.”

“There’s usually nobody around to talk to and…” Arthur exhaled a deep breath, “I’m not used to telling anyone where I’m going. On the Camelot, we could always find each other, but I didn’t tell you the entire time where I was going. I’m not used to asking for permission.”

Merlin shook his head. “You don’t have to ask for permission, never think that! And there’s always someone in the house you could talk to.”

Arthur blinked. “That’s really what you believe?”

“Why?”

“Did you ever notice how they act around me?”

Frowning, Merlin looked at him. 

“They are trying to avoid me. And if they can’t, they bend over backwards to get me what I want and then get away from me as soon as they can. Gaius just tries to teach me the language, it’s difficult even getting some info from him about customs or habits or something, much less a real conversation. And Aithusa usually looks at me as if I’m daft when I talk to her.” Arthur’s shoulders slumped. 

Merlin didn’t say anything for a while. Then he took a deep breath. “Alright, it’s time to tell you.”


	30. Chapter 30

Arthur just sat there and blinked. He usually had a hard time believing Merlin’s magic, even though he saw it in action, but the story he had just told him was a bit far-fetched. 

“A prophecy?”

“Yes. We are part of it.”

“You believe that we are part of an ancient prophecy and have to be together?”

“That’s what’s been told for ages.” 

Arthur searched Merlin’s face and waited for the pun in this story. Merlin had a wicked sense of humour but this? This was a bit too much. And Merlin didn’t show any signs that he would burst out laughing any minute now. 

“You believe in a fairytale and risk your life for it?”

Merlin looked offended. “It’s not a fairytale. Just like magic is something very real, this prophecy waited for us to fulfill it.”

“Us…” All Arthur could do was to react with sarcasm. “So you lured me into this without telling me about it by making me believe you loved me?” It hurt not only him but also Merlin, he knew, but he felt used. 

Staring at him with wide eyes, Merlin shook his head. “I do love you. It wouldn’t work if we weren’t right for each other.”

Arthur got up and went to the window. With his back towards Merlin, he swallowed hard. “I have given up everything I had, everything I knew. For you. And you only bring me here for some weird fantasy?”

“It’s not a fantasy. Arthur, together we are destined to unite the universe.”

Huffing, Arthur shook his head. “How are we supposed to unite the universe when you can’t even keep your own community united?” He knew it was mean to say something like that, but he couldn’t help himself. “You tell me about groups that are after me because I’m not from this planet. Others don’t even want to talk to me. What skills would I bring into this? I am not a diplomat, I’m a fighter.” Which wasn’t really true either, but Arthur was too confused. 

“It’s like everywhere. Change takes time.”

“But you didn’t give me that time. You could have told me back on the Camelot that this was what you expected of me.” Yes, it sounded accusatory, but Arthur felt betrayed. 

“What did you think you would do on Ealdor?”

“Oh, what do I know? Getting a job, doing what I can do. Instead, I find out I’m supposed to be the saviour of the universe that was promised in some childrens’ story.”

“I’m sorry, Arthur.” Merlin looked absolutely devastated. “I never meant for you to feel this way. I went into space to find love. I found you. And all the signs point to the fulfillment of the prophecy.”

“Can we stop talking about this prophecy crap for a moment? Can we focus on how I can get off this bloody planet and back into my own life?” Fuck, he hadn’t meant it that way. 

Merlin stared at him and tears started to well up in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Arthur. I’m so sorry. I thought…”

“What? What exactly did you think? Didn’t I have a say in all of this? You know how surprised I was that we all of a sudden were married when we just fucked on the holo deck! How could you keep the rest of this whole…arrangement from me?” Arthur didn’t even know what was worse, that he was angry or just sad. 

Merlin didn’t say anything for a long while. “I thought you’d just…you are so good in everything you do…you’d…slip into what destiny holds for you…”

“Let’s just ignore the fact that there is no such nonsense as ‘destiny’ for a moment. What did you expect me to do? Without telling me anything about it? That I’d just walk in here and go ‘Oh, look, I am a part in this big magic scheme, hurray!’? I don’t have magic, so I fully understand all those druids who are wary of me. How could the saviour of an ancient prophecy not even have magic? I don’t talk to dragons, I can’t do that thing with my eyes, I’m ordinary.”

“You are not.” Merlin sighed. “You are right, I should have told you sooner. I hoped that everything would fall into place and I missed the point where I should have seen that it doesn’t do that so easily. You need information.”

“Little bit too late for that now.”

“No, it’s not. Arthur….” Merlin massaged his temples with thumb and finger of the same hand. “It’s time for you to come along to the meetings. They need to get to know you. When they know you like I do, they will agree and it will get easier. I’ll make sure that you can wear your translator device, so you understand what is being said.”

Arthur stared at him. Hadn’t he just made it very clear that he wasn’t the one they were looking for? “Merlin, I am not that person you were looking for. I’m just a simple man with skills that are of no use on this planet. They are right saying that I’m not the right one.”

Merlin sniffed and wiped away the tears with the back of his hand. “You are…you need to believe in yourself. I understand if you need a bit of time. This is a lot to digest. And again, I’m sorry, I should have told you sooner. If I told you on the Camelot, you…” He sniffed again.

“I might not have come along, is that what you’re trying to say? You’re damn right about that. So you rather dragged me here, waited until any connection to my former life was too far away to reach again and now tell me this fantastic story of the power-couple who saves the universe by uniting it.” Arthur took a deep breath to calm down a bit. “You say we’re like the royals of ancient times who married commoners and that there are parts of the people here who frown upon that. You tell me that I’m in danger because of that and shouldn’t leave the house on my own. Now. This info would have come in handy a while back.” 

It looked like Merlin felt just as miserable as he did and he didn’t say anything for a long time. “I love you,” he finally whispered. 

Arthur swallowed hard. As if that solved anything. He didn’t want all this. He didn’t want to hurt Merlin and he didn’t want to feel so hurt. There was nothing he could do about it, though. Merlin hadn’t trusted him with all this information in the first place, so it wasn’t his own fault. The whispered words did something inside of him, though. He knew he loved Merlin just the same and they needed to find a solution to this mess if they wanted to stay together. If not, he needed to find a way to get off this planet. The thought caused him physical pain and he squeezed his eyes shut and drew a ragged breath. What was he supposed to do? Their argument was going around in circles, they wouldn’t find a way out of it now. 

“I…I need some time. I’m going to sleep on the couch.”


	31. Chapter 31

It was his third night on the couch and he missed Merlin terribly. On the other hand, whenever their paths crossed in the house, Merlin looked as if he wanted to say something and Arthur didn’t know what to say. 

Arthur tried to keep up with his language classes, but his motivation was down the drain. When he repeatedly pronounced a word incorrectly, Gaius just gave him the eyebrow of doom. 

“Sorry…can’t…focus.” He sighed. 

“My boy…” Gaius smiled and Arthur didn’t know if he should find that scary or not. The old man rarely smiled. 

It was weird that he addressed him like that. Gaius wasn’t his father or uncle or whatever. He might have been a hundred years old, who knew that exactly, but they had no relationship above Gaius being his teacher and him being the pupil. Arthur was even more surprised when Gaius switched into his language. 

“I know all of this is difficult to understand when you didn’t grow up on Ealdor. Merlin knows he should have told you sooner. He was just so in love that he…” the old man shrugged and his mild smile turned into a little grin. “He forgot. Didn’t you get into situations where you thought Merlin understood and didn’t tell him things?”

Arthur sighed. “This is just a big ‘thing’ not to mention.”

“He knows and he feels terrible about it.”

“So do I.” Arthur wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about this with Gaius of all people. Then again, he had nobody to talk to. 

“Tell him that.”

Arthur looked at the notes he had in front of him. “What difference does it make? He dragged me here for some weird destiny thing. I’m stuck here, I have no way out. That’s not fair.” He knew he pouted like he had done in the past days. 

The slightly amused smile was back on Gaius’ face and the eyebrow rose impossibly higher. “It did not look as if he had to drag you. You came here of your own, free will.”

“But under a false pretense.” Arthur replied stubbornly. 

“He never lied to you.”

“He wasn’t really honest either.”

“And he’s very sorry about it. He was afraid you would not want him if you knew.”

Arthur reached for his clogamora and took a sip. “Did he send you to negotiate?”

Gaius shook his head. “Not at all. He does not know that I have addressed this. But I see how the two of you are suffering. You do have a lot of feelings for Merlin, still. Don’t throw that away.”

He wasn’t going to. But he couldn’t get over the betrayal of not being told about this legend. “I don’t know what to do…” He admitted, more to himself than to the old man. 

The smile on Gaius’ face turned soft. “You set out to explore, did you not?”

“Well,…yeah.” In a different life. 

“Then explore.”

+++

Arthur hadn’t been able to fall asleep on the couch, so he had snuck out of the house and now lay on the grass behind the house and looked up into the stars. From somewhere, Aithusa had appeared and curled up next to him, putting her quite heavy head on his belly. Once in a while, she made a sound and Arthur had taken to stroke her head gently. It felt like the little dragon was his only friend. 

He missed his friends. He missed the orderly days on the Camelot, the talks with Leon, the banter with Gwaine, the discussions with Percy and Lance, Mithian’s wit and Gwen’s earnest expertise. And he missed Morgana. They hadn’t gotten along as children, but the older they got, the closer they got. She was a friend, a confidante and he missed their talks. 

Then explore.

Gaius’ words still echoed in his head. He had never shied away from anything if there was something new to see or to learn. Why was he so reluctant now? He had come here to find something completely different from what he knew and now that Merlin had opened up that world to him, he shied away from it. He still didn’t believe all that nonsense about legends and prophecies, but what if he just went along to one of those meetings? Just…to get a clearer picture in his head of what they were like? To find out who was friend and who foe? Wasn’t that what he was brought up to do? 

Aithusa grumbled. 

“I know.” He said and she seemed to be content. 

He still couldn’t get over how Merlin had kept all this from him. He had never questioned his own belief that Merlin was just a country boy. His mistake. He should have asked for facts. Would Merlin have given him answers if he asked back on the Camelot? 

A little sound escaped him. He missed Merlin so much that it physically hurt. If he was honest, it hadn’t been Merlin who dragged him to the planet. He had fallen in love and willingly given up everything he knew to be with him and find something new. Now, he had the chance to do so. 

It just felt so weird, this babble about magic and druids and legends and him being the man from the stars whose arrival was foretold. He didn’t believe in all this. 

When Aithusa nudged him as he had slacked off in his efforts to stroke her head, he looked at her. ‘I don’t believe in magic sayeth the man who is petting a dragon.’ He thought and almost laughed hysterically. His entire world was upside down. 

But what kept him from exploring and trying to find out which way was up? He stared at the moons as if they could give him the answer. 

+++

“Leon!”

Arthur blinked and thought he must have misheard this. It was clearly Merlin’s voice coming from the house, but why would he have greeted Leon? Oh well, maybe it was a common name on this planet and he just happened to know someone by that name, too?

There was a hushed conversation and all of a sudden, a familiar figure appeared on the patio. 

Jumping up from where he was sat under a tree, Arthur couldn’t believe his eyes. “Leon?”

“Arthur!” Leon beamed widely as he approached. 

They did that weird handshake-hug-thing they’d always done. 

“What…how?” Arthur laughed in delight. He’d thought he would never see Leon again, but there he was!

“Long story.”

“If I have anything, it’s time.”

“That thrilling around here?” Leon laughed. 

They went over to the little pavilion and from the house, a young man hurried over to bring them some fresh clogamora before he left quickly. 

“What’s that?”

“Some kind of tea. It’s good, try it.”

Leon took a sip and his eyes lit up. “That’s really good, but…” He threw the house a look. “Since when do you have servants?”

“I don’t. It’s…complicated. But tell me, what are you doing here? When did you arrive?”

Leon grinned. “We’ve been in orbit for half a day before we got permission to shuttle down.”

Arthur glanced up. “You’re saying….the Camelot is here?” His heart leap, this was his way out.

Nodding, Leon leaned back and just as he was about to start to speak, he saw Aithusa, who sat under a bush and eyed him. 

“What the heck is this?”

Arthur threw her a quick look. “That’s Aithusa.”

“Dogs around here sure look a lot different than I imagined.”

Laughing, Arthur waved Aithusa close. “She’s no dog. She’s a dragon. Even though she behaves a lot like a dog, you’re right. Aithusa, say hi to my friend Leon.”

Aithusa sniffed at the outstretched hand and then sneezed and sat on her behind. 

“Looks like I couldn’t convince her.” Leon laughed. 

“Now, that we’re through with the introduction, tell me all about what happened after you’ve left me here.”

About an hour later – Aithusa had decided that Leon was alright and had curled up on his feet – Leon took the last sip of his clogamora and shrugged. “And that’s about it.”


	32. Chapter 32

Arthur stared. He had hoped that his recorded message to Union Star Fleet would help the crew to evade punishment, but he hadn’t thought for one minute that they would all keep their ranks and stay on the Camelot together. Obviously, father had not been delighted by his actions – Leon hadn’t elaborated on his reaction too much – and some politicians had taken over and made it clear that they wanted to try to get Ealdor into the Union and start negotiations. As the crew of the Camelot had been in contact with Ealdor, or at least one Ealdorian, they were chosen to carefully start some kind of diplomatic relation or try to pave the way by extending invitations for talks. 

“You’re…wow. That’s just…wow.” Arthur didn’t know what to say. He was pleased for the crew and happy that now he had the chance to see them all again. It was probably just what he needed right now. 

“And…what have you been up to?” Leon asked carefully. “Aside from training dragons?”

Arthur shrugged. “It’s more like she is training me…”

“Come on, Arthur, what’s wrong? Merlin opens the door and looks like shit and you mope about in this beautiful garden, not looking any better. We’ve been here for at least an hour and Merlin hasn’t joined us and you haven’t mentioned him.”

Leon just knew him too well. Arthur look at the sleeping Aithusa. “Things are complicated at the moment.”

When Leon didn’t say anything, Arthur sighed and carefully painted the picture of what had happened. Leon didn’t need all the details and who had said what, it was enough when he understood that things weren’t so easy at the moment. 

“Whoa…” Leon took a deep breath when he had finished. “That’s indeed…but Arthur…you didn’t mind when you were suddenly married, why make such a big fuzz out of this now? If Merlin has offered to take you to a meeting, go, find out who they are. Charm them.”

Arthur looked at Leon for a while. “But what if I’m not the person they think Merlin brought to the planet?”

“Then you will find another way to proof your worth.” 

The communicator on Leon’s chest sprang to life. “Commander Knight? It’s time to return.” 

“Coming.” Leon got up as Arthur still wondered which of the crew members’ voice he had just heard. 

“How long will you be staying in orbit?” He should not have asked, it might sound desperate, but somehow it was comforting to know that the Camelot was here. 

“A couple of days at least.” Leon tried to give him an encouraging smile. “You…and Merlin…are always welcome on board, you know that.”

“Will I see you again before you leave?” Arthur didn’t want to leave the impression that he would hop into the shuttle right away to leave all of this behind. 

Leon grinned. “There’s a good chance you will.”

+++

Arthur tossed and turned. He had refused the offer to use one of the guest rooms and remained on the couch, but now he couldn’t find sleep. It was different than all the nights before. Had his situation seemed hopeless just the day before, the return of the Camelot bore new options. 

Swinging his legs over the edge of the couch, Arthur ran a hand through his hair, certain that it would stand on end but not caring. With a heavy sigh, he grabbed the light blanket and wandered out into the garden again. Spreading the blanket on the ground, he stretched out on it and looked up into the night sky. The double moons of Ealdor were a familiar sight by now, but Arthur marveled in their beauty each time he saw them. It always felt soothing to watch them and sometimes he felt as if they were watching him, too, which probably should have made him feel odd, but he felt protected by them. 

Tonight, he didn’t pay too much attention to the moons. He needed to find out if he could see the Camelot from where he was. He hadn’t thought that he would ever see her again or any of his friends and all of a sudden, Leon had stood before him this afternoon. From what he had told him, there was a good chance that they could see each other more often. If Ealdor agreed to negotiations and if the Camelot would be the flag ship for those. 

For a moment, Arthur thought he saw her sparkling between the stars and his chest got tight. He had not known how much he had missed her and everything that came with her. Would Morgana stand at the windows of her quarters right now and look down at the planet?

Arthur sniffed as a single tear rolled down the side of his face. This was childish. He had made his decision; he couldn’t go back to the Camelot. It would look as if he returned with his tail between his legs and that just wasn’t him. What would he do there anyway? He had resigned as the Captain of the ship and therefore taken his leave from Union Star Fleet. He would be just as useless on the Camelot as he was here. 

Once again, Aithusa appeared from between the trees, trotted over and licked the tears from his face. 

“Get off of me, you…giant puppy.” 

When she stopped sniffing around his chest, she followed his gaze but seemed confused as to what he was looking at. 

“The stars, Aithusa, the stars.”

It almost seemed as if she shrugged before she put her head on his belly again while curling up next to him. 

Was it that easy to ignore the stars and everything that was out there and just be content with what you had? If that was so, why was the urge to just get up, find the shuttle and go back to the Camelot so strong?

+++

It was as if he tried to be as far away from Merlin as possible in this house. He missed him, wanted to hold him, kiss him, breathe in his scent, but he still couldn’t get over what had happened. So he spend most of his time outside and after taking a shower, Arthur had retreated to the pavilion with his language books. It was even more difficult to focus today. 

“Arthur Pendragon!”

He looked up when he heard the familiar voice. Jumping up, a wide smile took over his face. “Morgana!” He should have known that she wouldn’t let the opportunity pass to see him while they were here. Opening up his arms for a tight hug, he yelled out when she slapped him so hard that his head flew to the side. “Morgs!”

“Are you fucking nuts?”

“Morgana, calm down, what’s wrong?” Arthur rubbed his cheek. Damn, his sister had put quite some force into this. 

“I think I come here and interrupt some marriage bliss and then I am greeted by an absolutely devastated Merlin! What did you do?” She glared at him. 

“Why is it always me who did something? How comes that the thought of it being him who did something doesn’t even enter your mind?”

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I’m waiting!”

Arthur sighed. He had longed to be able to talk to her just the night before, but now, that she stood before him, it was more difficult than he had thought. He gestured towards the chair and sat back in his when she sat down. Slowly, he started telling her about the way people treated him, how he was basically confined to the house and that Merlin only told him about the prophecy when he had demanded answers. 

Morgana listened without interrupting him and only spoke when he was done. “So, how exactly does the prophecy say you are going to unite the universe?”

Shrugging, Arthur huffed. “It doesn’t.”

“And Merlin and the druids don’t know either?”

“I don’t know, as you may have found out, we’re not really talking at the moment.”

She groaned and rolled her eyes. “Then talk, find out. Go to those meetings, find out what they want from you.”

“I’m not sure I’m the right one for this.” 

Morgana frowned. “You will not know when you don’t even try.”

Arthur didn’t say anything for a while. “It would be so easy to just go back to the Camelot with you.”

Hitting her fist on the little table, Morgana made a sound. “What happened here? Since when are you a quitter? From everything you said, it is clear that you still love Merlin more than anything. Why would you leave him behind and make yourself and him even more miserable? Did you look at him closely? He has lost a lot of weight and he was skinny to begin with. He has circles underneath his eyes that can compete with the rings of Blummero. He’s suffering and so are you. Talk to him!”

Throwing the house a glance, Arthur’s chest felt tight. He didn’t want to leave Merlin behind. He couldn’t or else he would have left with Leon the day before. “I…I don’t know how. I need to make a decision first.”

Morgana threw him a look that clearly showed that she was pitying him. “You have made this decision already, brother. Even if you don’t dare to think it and your self-doubts are trying to take over, you know that you will follow Merlin everywhere. I’m not saying it was fair of him to not tell you from the beginning, but I do understand why he didn’t do it. I’m not saying that you have no right to be angry, but don’t get hung up on your anger. Work through it, tell him that it hurt you and that you don’t feel good being treated like this. If you two are going to save the universe, you need to communicate better. But go, talk to him.”


	33. Chapter 33

He had talked to Morgana until the early hours of the morning and she had only left after taking the promise from him that he would talk to Merlin. 

Arthur knew she was right. He had made his decision when he had quit his life in the Star Fleet and now it was for better or worse. He didn’t really feel like believing all this druid things and take part in weird rituals or crying at mother nature to help or anything, but his life before Merlin had been empty. It was all duty and business and a part of him had always felt hollow. Since he had met Merlin, he felt complete. It didn’t matter that he didn’t have anything decent to do here yet, it still felt right to be here. Here, where Merlin was. 

Entering the kitchen, where he wanted to get a morning version of clogamora, which was a lot stronger and usually woke him up, Arthur stopped in his tracks when he noticed Merlin was standing at the sink, looking out into the garden. He wasn’t sure if Merlin had heard him coming in as he had his back towards him and hadn’t turned. 

“Merlin…” 

“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” Merlin’s shoulders got visibly tense. 

“What? No…I’m not.” The moment he said it, a lot of the tension of the previous days fell off of him and a new calmness spread all through him. 

Merlin sniffed. “But Leon was here and now Healer Morgana and they all offered you to come back with them.”

“They did not. Morgana even slapped me for thinking about it.”

“So you thought about it.” Merlin seemed to deflate more and more. 

“Merlin, look at me.”

Reluctantly, Merlin turned around and Arthur was shocked by what he saw. Morgana had been right, Merlin looked like shit. “We need to talk more about this prophecy and my role in it. And about the fact that you held so many things back from me. But I am not leaving.”

Sniffing and running a hand over his eyes and under his nose, Merlin just looked at him. “You’re not?” It sounded lost.

Seeing Merlin cry made Arthur step close and wrap his arms around him. He nuzzled into Merlin’s hair as Merlin sobbed on his shoulder. “No, I’m not.”

“You’re staying?” Merlin murmured against his shoulder. 

“Yes.” Saying it out loud made it real. And there was no doubt anymore. 

“For…me?”

“With you.” If he wanted to try out his role as the man by the wizard king’s side, he couldn’t be the consort who always stood one step behind Merlin. If they wanted this to work, they needed to be equals. 

Merlin clung to him and Arthur never wanted to let go. 

++++

Somehow they had made it over to their living room and it felt like they talked the entire day. Merlin apologized so many times for not having told him about the prophecy, but assured him that this wasn’t the only reason he wanted him. Arthur apologized for being so negative and seemingly trying to jump ship when the first issues came up. 

Merlin explained the druid meetings in detail, most of which Arthur had already forgotten the moment Merlin added more info, but he understood the structure of the Ealdorian society a bit better now. He heard about the issues between the druids and the government and how Merlin was working on solving those issues. 

Arthur’s eyes lit up when Merlin mentioned a certain technique of fighting that the inner druid circle had discussed. 

“What is this?”

“We needed to find a way for you to protect yourself. News has gotten out that you were in the city, there were images on the news, people start recognizing you.” Merlin didn’t look happy. 

“I…I need to stay a figure in the background? Never to be seen by anyone?” Arthur wasn’t sure if he liked that. 

“No.” Merlin shook his head and reached over to cup Arthur’s face. “Once you’re in your function, they will know you anyways. But for now, when you can’t protect yourself yet, it is dangerous for you to wander out on your own.”

“Why didn’t you tell me before? What is this fighting style? When can I start learning it?” Arthur knew he was fit and this would give him something more to do than just go for runs with Aithusa by his side. He blinked as a new thought occurred. “Aithusa was protecting me, right?”

A small smile showed on Merlin’s face. “She wouldn’t if she didn’t like you that much. She can be a stubborn little dragon.”

Arthur almost laughed. While he thought that he had been adopted by a pet, he’d actually had a body guard. A dragon body guard. “But she can’t come along everywhere?”

“No, she hates the city.” Merlin smiled.

“So I need to learn how to fight. What is this style?”

Merlin sipped his water. “It’s an ancient technique that might help you protect yourself from magic attacks.”

Blinking, Arthur sank deeper into the couch. “But…I don’t have magic.”

“Don’t say that.”

Arthur frowned. “I can’t do that thing with my hand and flash golden eyes and do weird things. I don’t have magic,” he repeated.

Merlin reached over and took his hand between his. “Arthur, even though you might not be able to use it, everyone is connected through magic. It makes you just as much a part of it like I am.”

Arthur snorted. “You ARE magic.”

“I am lucky enough to be able to use it, yes, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t learn how to detect it, to feel it and, if necessary to protect yourself against it.”

Him, a part of magic, able to know when someone around him used it…that thought was wild. Magic was invisible until you felt the outcome, how would he be able to detect it? He looked at Merlin. “What are you holding back now? We said no more secrets.” 

“If you agree to stay…”

“We already figured that out, I’m not leaving.”

“When you agree to do the training…when the masters deem you advanced enough…there’s a ritual…”

Arthur threw Merlin a look. A ritual. Would that mean they would try to beat him to pulp and if he survived, he was allowed to stay or something weird?

“Between you and me, where I show magic that you are part of us now. If it accepts you, you will be able to feel it around you. You will not be able to use it, but it won’t surprise you anymore.”

“So…nobody will cut me up in this ritual and if I’m lucky to survive, we’re done?”

Merlin chuckled and Arthur realized how much he had missed this sound. “No. You will like the ritual, trust me. But it’s a lot of work before that and you have to do it.”

“When do I start?”

+++

They talked the entire day and most of the following night and Arthur knew he had made the right decision to stay. The picture Merlin was painting for their future was exciting, a lot of work, but new, challenging things were waiting for him, for them and Arthur understood that it was up to him how fast or slow all of this would happen. Only when magic had accepted him, they would find out more details about the prophecy, so that was the first goal to work towards. 

At some point, he just reached over and pulled Merlin close. “I’ve missed you.”

“Mhmmm.” Merlin just made a content sound and snuggled closer. 

“Maybe…maybe we should try to get some sleep?” All the talking and discussing, the new things he had learned, dealing with all the emotions that came with it, was exhausting. And it was way past midnight anyways.

Merlin nodded and pulled back a bit. “How about…we take the blanket and go to the garden?”

Arthur chuckled. “You watched me.”

“I couldn’t sleep without you. That was the only way to be closer to you.” Merlin got up and grabbed the blanket from the couch. “And it looked as if you enjoyed the view.”

“I did.” Arthur followed Merlin out and they curled up on the blanket. He chuckled when Aithusa came from the nearby underbrush, circled them to find a space to lie down and made happy noises. Reaching out to stroke her head, Arthur didn’t know who he addressed it to when he said, “Thank you for watching over me.”


	34. Chapter 34

Arthur didn’t get time to catch his breath. He was sweating and panting and not in the good way either. He had thought that he would probably learn to fight with sticks or something else, but Master Kyworah had shown no mercy and attacked him with magic again and again. Arthur had thought he was fit, but even though he knew that those were mild attacks, he felt like a walking bruise. 

Scrambling up from the mat again, he took the stance the fighting coach had shown him. Everything hurt and he was getting tired, but he wouldn’t give Kyworah the satisfaction of giving up. 

Those magic attacks were mean. He didn’t see them coming and only when he had the chance to watch Kyworah closely, he got a slight warning when he caught the moment the man’s eyes glowed golden. Which took away his reaction time and the attack hit him full force. There had to be a way for him to detect them sooner. If only he knew how. 

Waiting for the next one, Arthur was surprised when a towel flew towards him. 

“Enough for today. Master Gaius awaits you for your language class.”

Arthur caught the towel and since he didn’t know what else to do, he bowed slightly. “Thank you.” He straightened up again with some effort and slung the towel around his neck before he took a corner to wipe the sweat off his face. 

“Emrys will know what to do.” Kyworah nodded once and then left. 

Arthur would have loved to know more about this fighting technique. He needed to know what he had done wrong and where he needed to start to improve. He was tired and even moving slowly hurt. Would he have time to take a quick shower before he had to learn new vocabulary or grammar?

When he showed up, Gaius was already there. 

The old man threw him a look and his hairline got a visit from his eyebrow, a sight Arthur had gotten used to. 

“I see you are taking more lessons.”

“Yes,” Arthur nodded. “Master Kyworah is a good coach.” He was proud to be able to say that in Ealdorian without mistakes. 

“You should take a shower, you stink.” 

Before Arthur could mention that it would take away from their time, Gaius added. “I will wait.”

The shower felt heavenly but Arthur knew he couldn’t stall. He had wasted too much time already and had to speed things up a bit to earn the respect of the Ealdorians. So he finished as quickly as possible, scrambled into fresh clothes with an effort and made his way out to Gaius again. 

“Sorry it took so long.”

Of course, Gaius had to correct his use of tenses right away. Would he ever be able to speak this language fluently? 

Someone had brought them cool drinks and in no time, their hour was over. Arthur hadn’t even noticed how time flew until suddenly Merlin stood next to them. 

He greeted Gaius. “Have you tortured my bonded enough for today, Gaius?”

The old man chuckled and then they both stared at Arthur when he laughed, too. 

“What?” Arthur looked from one to the other.

“You…you understood that?” Merlin’s face lit up. 

“Yeah, I did….I think? Or did I not understand and think it was something completely different?” Arthur was unsure. 

Gaius nodded and got up. “Finally all my trouble starts to pay off. Keep up the good work, my boy.”

That was by far the highest praise he had ever gotten from the old man and Arthur scrambled up, too. “Thank you.”

+++

Merlin made a big fuzz out of him understanding a full sentence. But secretly, Arthur was quite proud of himself. Usually, he only understood single words and only if they were used just the way he had learned them. Sometimes, if he were lucky, someone spoke very slowly and accentuated for him to understand. But now, without even trying, he had understood an entire sentence. Was he really slowly adapting? 

When Merlin wrapped his arms around his neck and pulled him close, Arthur hissed. Alarmed, Merlin let go and stepped back. 

“What is it?”

“Master Kyworah didn’t hold back.”

“Why didn’t you say anything? Come, let me look at it.”

“Ah, it’s not that bad.” Arthur made a discarding gesture. “I’m sure I’ll be fine tomorrow morning.” He was sure he would be anything but fine. Some of the spots Kyworah’s spells had hit hurt more by the minute. 

Merlin frowned. “I told him to go easy on you for your first time.”

“That almost sounds naughty.” Arthur chuckled and then ouch-ed when his rib acted up. “I told him not to spare me.” He made a face. 

Groaning, Merlin gestured for him to follow him to the bedroom. He went to the adjacent bathroom and rummaged in that little cabinet that Arthur never had dared to peek into. 

As he suspected, Merlin returned with salves and leaves. 

“Strip.”

“I’m not sure I’m up for sexy times now, Merlin.” Arthur carefully scrambled out of his pants and then pulled his shirt over his head. “Ow.”

“You hurting isn’t sexy.” Merlin frowned even more when he saw Arthur’s body. “It wasn’t a good idea to tell him not to spare you. He is powerful.”

“More powerful than you?” Arthur tried to joke but then made a face when Merlin examined the various spots on his body. 

“Shhh.”

For a while, Arthur watched Merlin do his thing, clenched his teeth when Merlin applied some salve here or rubbed some leaves over another spot there. A warm calmness overcame him when Merlin just held his hand to his chest and his eyes glowed. 

+++

When he woke up again, it was slowly getting dark. His brain told him to move carefully as he suspected that the bruised feeling had only gotten worse. To his surprise, he could just sit up and felt a lot more refreshed than he should have. 

The door opened and Merlin came in, carrying a pitcher with some blue-ish liquid and two glasses. “You woke up!” He set the things down and sat at the edge of the bed. “How are you feeling.”

“Good.”

“Okay. Now promise me one thing.”

Arthur threw him a look. “What?”

“Never challenge anyone again in the first lesson they’re going to give you.” Merlin chuckled and shook his head before he got serious again. “He could have killed you, you know that.”

“He is a good fighter.”

“Start slowly, Arthur. When you can parry mild attacks, you can go further, but please…first things first.”

Arthur leaned his head against the wall behind him. True, in hindsight it had been stupid, but he wanted to show the druid that he wasn’t a weakling and meant what he said. 

“He appreciated your stamina, though.” Merlin grinned. 

Laughing, Arthur reached for Merlin. “But what about your stamina?”

Merlin shrugged and touched foreheads with him. “Hasn’t been put to the test in a few days.”

Arthur chuckled. “How about…we do something about that?”

“Are you sure?” A mischievous smile showed on Merlin’s face. 

“If you don’t get too wild, I think I can take it.”

Merlin leaned in for a quick kiss before he pulled back. “Here, brought you something for that.” He poured each of them a glass of the blue liquid. 

“What’s this?”

“My special clogamora recipe.” Merlin handed him a glass. 

Arthur laughed. “I have the feeling that everything is called clogamora.” He sipped the drink and felt the tiredness seep from his muscles. “This is…this is really good.”

“Yeah?” Merlin grinned. “Then drink up.”


	35. Chapter 35

The days flew by and were filled with learning. Arthur had not been too thrilled when his next fighting lesson was just some warm-ups and an excessive work-out followed by lots of lectures. Kyworah had analyzed his every move from their first lesson and Arthur felt as if he hadn’t worked out in years when he criticized almost everything. Still, Arthur listened and tried to take mental notes. 

He still carried his translator device around in the pocket of his pants to have it at hand when he ran into issues. People around the house, who had refused to talk to him before or only said the most necessary, slowly seemed to warm up to him. 

When he entered the kitchen after a work-out that made his legs feel like jelly, a young man that he had seen a few times already, was preparing a meal. 

“Hi.”

“Master Arthur.” The man nodded. 

“No Master…just Arthur.” Arthur smiled and went to find a cool drink in the fridge-like cabinet. “What are you doing?” He looked over.

“I am cooking.”

Damn, the word for cooking had escaped him. “What are you cooking?”

He should have been prepared for the name of the dish that he, of course, had never heard before. He tried to repeat it and suddenly, the man turned halfways towards him and smiled. 

He said it again and made Arthur repeat it until he got it right. 

“It’s one of Emrys’ favorites.” The man said when he chopped something up that might have been a fruit…or a vegetable. 

“Would you show me how to prepare it?” When the man looked at him questioningly, Arthur noticed that he had spoken in Union standard again. “You show me how make?”

For a moment, there was uncertainty on the man’s face and Arthur didn’t know if he had overstepped a line. Maybe it just wasn’t something he was supposed to do? Or it was an ancient family recipe that the bloke didn’t want to share? Or maybe there was still that invisible wall between them even though Arthur had had the feeling that they had torn that down a few moments ago, he didn’t know. 

The guy gestured towards the sink and made a gesture as if he was rubbing his hands together. “Wash your hands first.”

He found him a dish towel that he could make into an apron by simply stuffing it into the waistband of his work-out pants. 

“What’s your name?” 

“Julan.” The man smiled and started to explain the different ingredients of the meal. 

Most of them, Arthur had no idea what they were. Some looked familiar and others he had seen before, but he didn’t know the names and just did what Julan showed him to do. So he chopped and sliced and made little cubes out of things as Julan put them together in a pan and slowly, it started to smell really appetizing in the kitchen. 

“There you are.” Merlin leaned against the doorframe. “Thought I’d find you where there’s food.”

Arthur looked up and smiled. “Julan here was just starting to make what he says is one of your favorite dishes and I thought I’d try to learn from the best.”

Julan, who just heard his name, looked uncertain. “I’m sorry, Emrys. He asked…I shouldn’t have…”

“Why not?” Merlin smiled. 

“Cooking is unworthy of Emrys and his consort.”

Arthur, who couldn’t follow the conversation and felt it was important to understand, slipped the translator into his ear. 

Merlin groaned. “No, it is not. I appreciate that you and the others make wonderful meals for us when we are too busy to do it ourselves. That does not mean that it’s an activity that we consider too low for us to do. If Arthur wants to learn how to make local specialties, please let him participate.”

Julan still didn’t seem convinced, but then a slow smile showed on his face. “It’s an honour.”

Arthur let himself be kissed when Merlin came over, but then turned back to the food. “What now?”

Merlin watched them for a while and then left again. 

+++

Gaius’ language lessons turned more and more into lectures about Ealdorian society and the sometimes fragile relationship between the magic and the non-magic people on the planet. Arthur learned about the government and the voting system and that magic was seen as a religion by a lot of non-magic folk. Arthur had seen many of these constructs visiting other planets, so he asked questions and compared with his own experiences and even though he still lacked the vocabulary to always express exactly what he wanted to say, they started to have vivid discussions. 

Sometimes, Aithusa sat with them when they were outside and huffed up little clouds of smoke once in a while. 

“Arthur?” Merlin stepped out onto the patio.

“What’s up?” 

Merlin came over to kiss him when he raised his face up. “Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“Well…there’s…mam called and she needs something and I don’t have time to go.” Merlin said but evaded his gaze.

“I can bring it.”

“Could you?”

“Sure.” Arthur grinned. “If you let me go on my own.”

Merlin grinned back. “I’ll let her know that you’re coming.”

Arthur found shoes and then took the small container that Merlin held out to him. 

“Drive safely.” Merlin grinned wider. 

“Yes, mom.” Leaning in, Arthur pressed a quick kiss on Merlin’s cheek. Going out to where the vehicle was parked, he knew that he wouldn’t be alone. It was nice that Merlin wanted him to do things like this little errand, but he also knew that there would be guardians along the way or following him. Maybe it was also a test to find out how many of them he would be able to detect. 

He didn’t mind. It wasn’t as if Merlin had told him otherwise, he had just grinned, so yes, Arthur knew what was happening. He still loved getting out of the house and was looking forward to seeing Hunith again. 

Pulling up at her house, Arthur thought he had noticed at least three druid guardians along the way and if he wasn’t mistaken, he had seen Aithusa swooping in and out of the trees. He was sure there were lots more. 

“Arthur!” Hunith waved him into the house.

“Hello, Hunith.”

She took the container he held out to her and then ushered him into her living room. “Cold or hot?”

Arthur blinked. Oh, true, that was a standard question to find out if a guest would rather have a cold or a hot drink. “Cold, please. Can I help you with something?”

She shook her head and quickly returned with a pitcher of something that had a slightly disturbing radiant reddish-orangey colour. “Here, try this.”

“Thank you. What is it?” 

They made a bit of small-talk and Arthur was surprised how well he understood Hunith. She was kind enough to talk slowly and when she thought he might not be able to follow, she rephrased what she said. 

“You don’t know what you’re here for, Arthur, are you?” Hunith looked at him. 

“To deliver the container?”

Hunith shook her head. “This boy. He needs to talk to you more.” She looked at him. “I was quite furious when he didn’t tell you about the prophecy. I thought you needed to know.”

Arthur looked at her for a moment. “We’ve talked this through. It’s in the past.”

“It is not. It almost cost him you. Which would have been his own fault. I told him many times, he wouldn’t listen.”

“I’m still here.”

“Which shows that you are good for him. Just…make him talk to you more. You need to be involved.”

Arthur had no intention of bringing that all up again. It had been a painful experience but it was comforting that even Merlin’s mother was cross with Merlin about how he had handled things. “So…what am I here for, then?”

Her face lit up in a way that reminded him so much of Merlin. “For a fitting.”

“A fitting?” 

“Yes.” She got up. “When you attend your first meeting, you must show them that you want to be part of us. Which means, you have to wear appropriate clothing.”

Arthur saw nothing wrong with his pants and shirt, but if Hunith said so… “Alright…?”

She waved to make him come along.

+++

When he opened the door after a long afternoon of fabrics and trying things on, Arthur found Merlin grinning widely. 

“I hate you.”

“I was busy!” Merlin laughed. 

“Who thought that a fitting could be so exhausting? You owe me, big time!”

Merlin still giggled. “Sorry that I didn’t come along. I was…”

“Scared that she would want to make something new for you, too?”

“Busy is what I meant to say.” Merlin still grinned widely when he stepped close. “Did you find something that you could imagine wearing?”

He hadn’t been too fond of the idea of wearing long robes and cloaks and whatnots. Even if he imagined these things as some kind of uniform, it was odd and he knew he would need some time to get used to it. “She picked red fabric and white fabric and said it suits me.” He shrugged. 

Merlin smiled. “Mam is one of the best seamstresses for those garments. She knows what she’s doing. She picked your colours the way they need to follow tradition and that look good on you.”

“What are your colours?”

“My cloak is blue. And of course, I wear the neckerchief with it as contrast.”

Arthur held on a moment longer. “You never told me the story about the neckerchief.”

“First,” Merlin pressed a quick kiss on his lips, “you will tell me how many guardians you noticed and exactly what mam said. Julan made some vegetable stew we can have on the patio, if you’re hungry.”

Blinking slowly and very theatrically, Arthur made a face. “I just spent four hours at your mother’s house. Do you really think I would be hungry any time soon?” He had met Hunith a couple of times since his arrival, but he still didn’t dare to reject anything edible that she put in front of him. How could he disappoint her when she presented the things so proudly? 

“Never kept you from eating anyway.” Merlin laughed. 

“And it didn’t keep her from sending all the left-overs over. Julan took them to the kitchen.”

They grabbed some plates and spoons, had some of the stew and just when Arthur thought, Merlin would distract him by asking about the guardians and how he detected them, he started telling him a story.


	36. Chapter 36

“Reincarnation…” Arthur blinked and didn’t know if he could keep the giggle in any longer that tried to bubble up and break free. 

“Yes,” Merlin said in all earnestness. “Just like they have been waiting for me to be born again, the universe has waited for you to be reborn.”

“You’re actually saying that I have been living before? Like…some ten thousand years ago or so?”

“Well, probably not you you, but your soul, yes.”

Arthur blinked again. “That makes no sense. You’re saying that I’m this ancient person who meddled with magic and now I’m reborn again?” Then again, a lot of things around here didn’t make much sense. 

“Yes. The elders knew you would be out there when I came back.” Merlin smiled so lovingly at him that Arthur’s lips curled up in a smile, too. 

“And he’s worn this neckerchief?”

“Old paintings show him wearing a long, red cloak.”

So that was why Hunith had insisted on making his cloak in a bright, vibrant red. 

“And you’re wearing it as a neckerchief….Merlin, don’t tell me this is part of the actual cloak!” Things were too fantastic and too big to really understand, so maybe there was some kind of magic that had preserved that man’s cloak?

Merlin chuckled and shook his head. “No, it only exists in pictures. I am wearing the neckerchief as a sign of connection. I’ve been wearing it since I was a little kid. It’s said to guide me on my journey to you. And it did.”

Arthur was rubbing his temple. The logical part of his brain was fighting this so hard that it gave him a headache. A simple piece of cloths that symbolized and ancient myth made Merlin find him? And he was that man…Merlin had called him a knight…from the legend? That was so difficult to believe. Then again, he was training to detect magic and to fight magic attacks, he had seen people do magic and he was preparing to be a part of it. Why couldn’t he just believe what Merlin told him? Merlin seemed to believe it. 

“You still have a hard time believing in magic, don’t you?” Merlin sounded a bit sad. 

“It’s just…difficult. But…” Arthur took a deep breath and threw Merlin a crooked smile. “I’m trying?”

Merlin reached over and squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”

+++

Arthur was exhausted but happy. For the first time, he had detected a magic attack from Master Kyworah on time to at least partially dodge it, which felt like a huge breakthrough. Of course, he always felt beaten up after his training sessions, but Merlin’s blue mystery tea could usually remedy that. 

“How was training?” Merlin poured him a glass and handed it over. 

When Arthur was done describing his every move in loving detail, Merlin leaned over and kissed him. 

“You deserve a reward.”

“A reward?” Arthur wiggled his eyebrow and let his gaze wander along Merlin’s body. 

“We can do that later, but first…get dressed, we’re going out.”

As always when Merlin said something like this, Arthur didn’t know what to expect. He seemed to have picked the right shoes to wear as Merlin dragged him through the woods about an hour later. 

“Where are we going?”

“Patience.”

“What are we going to do there?”

After a while, Merlin just chuckled when he asked again and finally stopped at a clearing. It was almost getting dark already and Arthur wondered how they would find their way back again. 

Merlin stood in the middle of the clearing and called out words that Arthur didn’t understand. It sounded like back on the Camelot, when he had talked to the dragon whose baby they had unintentionally injured. 

Before the thought sunk in, Aithusa came swooping down from somewhere between the trees and sat next to Arthur.

“Hey there, little one.” Arthur just couldn’t help himself, he always needed to pat her head when she appeared and she seemed to appreciate it. 

Then there was a sound, much like when Aithusa flew in, but a lot louder. Arthur gaped when a dragon of gigantic proportions batted its wings in a maneuver to land right in front of Merlin. 

Merlin said something and the dragon bowed. 

“And this,” Merlin gestured over to Arthur, “is my bonded, Arthur Pendragon.”

The creature turned its head, looked at him and Arthur had never felt judged so hard. “Err…hello.”

The big head came closer and Arthur felt the dragon sniffing at him. Aithusa had done that, too, so he figured it was a dragon-thing to do. 

“You have chosen wisely, Emrys.”

Arthur blinked. The dragon…spoke? Aithusa never said anything. It always seemed as if she understood what he told her, but she had never replied. This dragon…could talk?

“Thank you, Kilgharrah.” Merlin smiled. “I thought it was about time you met him.”

Kilgharrah turned his massive head and looked at Arthur again. “You have a long way ahead of you, Earthling, but together, you will do great things.”

Arthur didn’t know what to say to that. He still wasn’t over the fact that the dragon spoke Ealdorian. “I’ll try my best.”

“So I’ve heard.” Kilgharrah seemed to give Aithusa a side-ways look. 

Alright…so the little dog-like pet dragon wasn’t only his bodyguard but a spy for the dragons, too. He should have known, but even though Merlin had assured him that there were lots of dragons on Ealdor, he had pushed that thought out of his mind. Aithusa was the only one he had met so far. 

Merlin and the dragon exchanged a few more words and Arthur had the feeling that they were surrounded by creatures, still hiding in the forest, all trying to get a glimpse of him. He took a deep breath and pulled up to his full height. He knew that it was important that Kilgharrah approved of him. He seemed to be the head-dragon or leader of the pack or dragon king or whatever and it felt as if the other dragons would follow him. 

Nodding at the dragon, Merlin smiled and Arthur understood that this marked the end of their meeting. Kilgharrah first bowed to Merlin and then turned his head to bow to him. 

Instinctively, Arthur did the same. If the creature was so polite to accept him with this gesture, he needed to do the same, right?

There were lots of swooping noises around them and Arthur gasped as more than a dozen dragons of various sizes rose above the trees and took off. 

“Wow.”

Merlin turned to him and smiled. “It was time that you met him.”  
Arthur still didn’t know what to say. “I thought…all dragons here were like Aithusa.”

Merlin grinned. “They come in all shapes, forms and sizes. And they all like you.”

Looking up into the Ealdorian night sky, Arthur felt at ease. If someone ever told him that he would meet a dragon…more than one…and was accepted by them as the man by their Lord’s side, he would have laughed hysterically. So many things had happened in the past months that meeting a dragon the size of a couple of elephants seemed to have become a normal occurrence. 

Merlin wrapped his arms around him, whispered “Love you” and leaned in to kiss him.


	37. Chapter 37

Arthur had been ordered to more fittings a few times and even though he didn’t enjoy the “Try this”, “Hold still”, “Watch out, there’s still pins in this”, he liked spending time with Hunith. He had never known what it felt like to have a mother, being raised by a single father who was a lot more interested in his career than in a son who cost his beloved wife’s life. Arthur had been handed from nanny to nanny and spent more time on space ships than in the huge, but sterile house. 

Hunith was wonderful. She had made him feel welcome from the very first moment on and while others might have questioned Merlin’s choice, she had always firmly believed that her son picked the right one. 

“Here you go.” She reached up and brushed some invisible lint off of Arthur’s shoulder and then stepped back, so he could see himself in the mirror.

Blinking, Arthur didn’t know what to say. Hunith had made him black pants, much like the well-fitting ones from his dress uniform. The red shirt looked a bit like the images he had seen of medieval clothing on earth and was fastened with a belt around his hips. The outfit was topped off with a bottom-length red cloak that had a golden dragon embroidery on the left upper arm. 

“Your boots will be ready soon,” Hunith looked at him expectantly. “Then your outfit will be complete.”

Arthur still wasn’t sure. Strangely, it felt good to wear this. He might need some time to get used to the cloak, but he felt festive and not even as if he was wearing a costume. “That’s…Hunith…wow. What’s the dragon about?”

That seemed to be enough for her, she beamed widely. “You look so handsome. I had the chance to contact Morgana Pendragon, she found out your family crest and provided me with images, so I could stitch it on.”

He had never known that they did have something like a family crest, not that he had put any effort into finding out, but he didn’t put it beyond Morgana to either dig deep into the archives or to just make this up because she thought it was fitting. 

“I will make a few more shirts, so you can chose according to the occasion, and have them sent to the house.”

“Why don’t you bring them yourself?” That was a rather blunt question, but it felt weird that Merlin’s mom never came to their house. Wasn’t that what parents did? So far, they only ever went to her place to see her. “If transport is an issue…I’m sure Merlin can arrange it.”

Hunith threw him a long look. “Arthur, I don’t have magic.”

“So?” What did that have to do with anything? 

“Nobody without magic is allowed at the house.”

Arthur frowned. That didn’t make any sense. “I don’t have magic, and I live there.”

“That’s different. You are Merlin’s bonded.”

“And you’re his mother! The other day he explained that we are all connected through magic, if we can use it or not, so you are part of it, too.”

She gave him a long look. “The druids won’t allow it.”

“Then they are stupid. It’s not like you want to move in with us, but you should be able to come visit.” Arthur straightened up and looked at himself in the mirror. “This is something I need to address when I finally meet those druids.”

Hunith smiled gently at him. “It’s true what they say. You bring change.”

+++

Arthur was nervous and checked for the umpteenth time if the translator in his ear was working. He was sure that the druids would mumble things that he had never heard before, so he wanted to be on the safe side and able to understand what they were saying. 

Merlin squeezed his hand. “Ready?”

Adjusting his cloak on his shoulders, Arthur nodded. “As ready as I can get.”

“You can do it.” Merlin smiled and then stepped out into the big assembly room that took up most of one wing of the house. 

Arthur kept his back straight and was glad that he had been schooled not to let his face show what he was thinking. He had never been in this part of the house. The room looked almost like a vault with an arched ceiling and didn’t seem to fit the rest of the house. There were eight people standing in a circle, some of them dressed in long robes, some wearing hooded cloaks in muted colours. Only Merlin and he stuck out in their festive blue and red cloaks that seemed to be shining. 

“Emrys.” It whispered from all of them and Arthur noticed that at least one of them was a woman. 

“Elders,” Merlin sounded very formal all of a sudden. “Thank you for following my invite. It is about time that you meet my bonded.”

Arthur felt all eyes on him and tried to make a friendly face. 

“I present you, Arthur Pendragon.” Merlin stepped back a bit. 

Situations like these weren’t foreign to Arthur, but this time, he didn’t really know what to say. And then he heard the whispers. 

“Pendragon…” “Pendragon…” and the druids exchanged glances. What did that mean? It was his last name and not like Emrys for Merlin, a title. 

“Good evening.” He tried the friendly diplomatic approach that got him through endless meetings with high-ranking officials from other planets. “It is an honour and a pleasure to meet you at last. Thank you for welcoming me into your midst. I am still learning, but I will do my best to fulfill my duty at Merlin’s side.”

Finally, one of them pulled the hood back and revealed a bald head. He bowed his head politely. “Welcome to Ealdor, Pendragon.”

Arthur nodded and smiled. “Thank you.” He threw Merlin a sideways look, but Merlin didn’t react to it. 

The druids, one after the other, revealed their faces and bowed to him, welcoming him, some a bit more reluctant than others. 

Merlin introduced everyone to Arthur and Arthur did his best to remember the names. He was trained to do this, he could do it…oh, he’d already forgotten the name of the tall one with the white beard. Anorak? He needed to ask Merlin later. 

“If there is anything we can do to help you, Pendragon,” Alator, the first one to welcome him, spoke up, “please let us know.”

“Actually…”

Merlin threw him a questioning look and the female druid gasped. 

“Actually, I would appreciate if you could reconsider your decision that Merlin’s mother is not welcome in this house. From my side, she definitely is and if you could come to the conclusion that she is a valued addition and a guest who will bring joy to this home, I’d be very grateful. It would also help Emrys and myself as it would minimize our travel time to see her.” Arthur’s heart was beating. It could be considered a major offence that he uttered a demand right at his very first meeting. Sometimes, though, an attack was the best defense. Maybe he had shown already that he was willing to participate actively instead of just being an ornament at Merlin’s side. 

Merlin reached for his hand and squeezed it and Arthur knew they would be talking about this once they were alone again. He didn’t mind. It was stupid that Hunith couldn’t come see them, it had to change. 

The druids didn’t say anything for a moment, before Alator spoke again. “We will take your request into consideration, Pendragon.”

There were a hundred good reasons running through Arthur’s head, but he knew that it would look defensive if he blurted them all out now. So he just nodded once. “Thank you.”


	38. Chapter 38

Arthur waited for Merlin to say something. To tell him that it was wrong to open up the relationship with the elders with a demand. And he saw that this was working inside Merlin.

“Come on, say it.”

Merlin looked at him and a slow smile showed on his face. “I’m proud of you, you did well.”

“That’s not what you want to say, is it? You want to tell me that it wasn’t my place to demand anything from the elders, that I needed to bow to them, isn’t it?”

Looking at him for a long time, Merlin shook his head slightly. “It was what they expected. They thought because you are not from Ealdor, you had to do what they say.” A little grin showed on Merlin’s face. “But you need to be an equal, not a servant. You showed them that you have no fear to address the things you want changed.”

“Will they allow the change?”

Merlin shrugged. “I don’t know, but I hope so.”

Arthur looked over. “Merlin, they say you are the most powerful of them all, in the entire universe. Why didn’t you fight for your mother to be able to come here?” He’d been itching to ask Merlin this question since it came up. 

Merlin looked down. “I tried to change it, in the beginning. I was very young and I trusted the elders completely. And they ruled it out that a non-magic person would set foot in this house. So I believed it.” He looked at Arthur.

“And you’ve never questioned it since.” Arthur didn’t blame Merlin. He was young, there were rules. And later on, there might have been more pressing issues to discuss and Merlin went to see his mother as often as he could. 

Slightly shaking his head, Merlin let out a sigh. “It took you to address this issue again. And I’m grateful for that.” He leaned over and pressed a kiss on Arthur’s lips. “Thank you.”

Arthur had no idea if the druids would grant his wish, but maybe they found out that he was the fresh set of eyes, looking at their community from the outside. It probably couldn’t hurt to question old habits once in a while. 

Smiling, he nestled with the fastening of his cloak. “I need to get out of these clothes.”

“Because you didn’t feel good in them or…” Merlin wiggled his eyebrows, “For other reasons?”

+++

He had never done this before, but he slowly stripped for Merlin, never breaking eye contact. Arthur was sure it looked clumsy and they both laughed when he hopped around on one leg to pull the boot off the other foot and got tangled in the long cloak when he tried to toss it aside with an elegant motion. So much for elegant. 

The look in Merlin’s eyes had turned from interested to downright hungry and Arthur had never felt so wanted. He wiggled out of his underwear and slowly approached Merlin.

“I think you are overdressed, sir.”

Merlin grinned. “Do something about it?”

Together, they got Merlin out of his own cloak and robes and Arthur kissed down Merlin’s chest. 

Merlin’s hand in his hair, he made his way down until he knelt in front of Merlin. Arthur had never liked this position, it had made him feel small and weak, but now he found, he didn’t mind. He wanted to give Merlin so much pleasure that magic would shake everything on this planet. 

Teasing Merlin with the tip of his nose that he drew over soft, warm skin, Arthur breathed on Merlin’s cock, which already hardened. 

“Arthur…” Merlin breathed. 

That Merlin’s hand in his hair didn’t force him or push him to do anything was a new experience. The few times Arthur had been with other men, it had always been a struggle for dominance. He was a bottom, he knew that, he enjoyed it a lot more than topping, but that didn’t mean he was a rag doll without his own will that could be used. When someone had put their hand on his head and tried to shove him against their dick, Arthur had always pulled back and ended it right there.

Merlin did no such thing; it felt as if his hand was just there as a connection and Arthur liked it a lot. Experimentally, he licked at Merlin’s cock here and there and grinned when Merlin started making little noises. Carefully, he took a deep breath and took the tip of Merlin’s cock between his lips. 

“Oh fuck…” Merlin breathed out. 

Arthur had never been too keen on giving blowjobs and somehow, in all the months they were together now, he didn’t do it. It wasn’t that he had actively avoided it, but somehow unconsciously? Now he wanted to pleasure Merlin, who reacted so exquisitely to what he did. He used his tongue and took care of his teeth not touching Merlin’s hot flesh; he took him in as deep as he could and then slowly pulled back, applying a bit more pressure with his lips. 

It didn’t take long until he noticed that Merlin’s legs were trembling, so he doubled his efforts. 

‘Come,’ he thought and looked up to see Merlin staring down at him in wonder, his eyes starting to switch colour and then glowing at him. 

Arthur made a little sound when he felt Merlin coming. He tried to swallow, but that was difficult, so he just held on to Merlin and wiggled his tongue against the spurting cock. When Merlin was spent, Arthur pulled back with a little cough, trying to wipe away the cum that was on his face. 

Merlin shivered and slumped backwards onto the couch. 

His knees hurt, but Arthur scrambled up.

“Where are you going?” Merlin blinked lazily.

“To get some towels and stuff?”

Merlin reached up and pulled him down on the couch with him. A little flashing of golden eyes and they were cleaned up. 

Arthur chuckled as he leaned against Merlin. “How comes you never did that before?”

Leaning his head against Arthur’s shoulder, he smiled lazily. “Maybe I like cleaning us up?”

“Kinky.” Arthur grinned. “And today?”

Merlin wiggled around a bit and snuggled close. “Too lazy.”

Wrapping his arm around Merlin’s shoulder, Arthur chuckled. After a while, he started caressing the upper rim of Merlin’s ear with his thumb. 

“Arthur.” Merlin inhaled deeply. 

“That’s my name.”

“What are you doing?”

Oh…it wasn’t as if he had forgotten that this was a very sensitive spot on Merlin’s body, but this time, he had done it quite absent-mindedly. Or so he told himself. Grinning, he repeated the motion. “This?”

Merlin groaned as he hardened again. He turned a bit, pressed a kiss on Arthur’s cheek and grinned at him. “You’re going to be the death of me.” He got up and pulled Arthur along to the bedroom. 

+++

Arthur grinned when Merlin ran about nervously. “Calm down.”

“But…”

“Everything is perfect. We are living here, this isn’t a house to show off to potential buyers. It’s clean, it’s relatively tidy, it’s us and your mother will love it.” Arthur grabbed Merlin’s wrist as he hurried by and pulled him close. 

“You don’t know mam, she will start tidying when she thinks we don’t have the time for it.”

Arthur pressed a quick peck on Merlin’s lips. “She will have a nice afternoon with her son. Julan and I made food.” He chuckled when he saw Merlin’s face. “Alright, Julan made the food and I helped. Turned out I am rather good at licking spoons…”

“You’re rather good at licking other things as well.” Merlin grinned and pressed closer. 

Just as Arthur wanted to suggest to give Merlin a sample of his skills, they heard the vehicle pull up in the driveway. “Too bad.” He winked.

“I’ll come back to that later,” Merlin pinched his arse before he turned to welcome his mother to the house for the first time. 

+++

Hunith had seemed to be nervous but overjoyed that she was finally allowed into her son’s home. She had brought bags full of food and other gifts, more ornamental shirts for Merlin and Arthur and had looked at everything with wide eyes. 

They had spent a wonderful, very relaxed afternoon with yet another version of clogamora that Arthur hadn’t known before, but which seemed to be Hunith’s favourite and when it got a bit cooler, they had dinner. 

As she already had met Aithusa, the little dragon jumped over when she saw Hunith and greeted her, demanding skritches and then curling up, puffing little contented smoke rings next to Hunith’s feet. 

When it was time to leave, Hunith hugged her son tightly and whispered something into his ear which Arthur couldn’t make out. Then it was his turn and Hunith almost hugged the stuffing out of him. 

“Thank you, Arthur. I know this is your doing.” She sniffed. “You are good for this planet and good for Merlin. Thank you.”

Arthur let her hug all she wanted and hugged back, still a bit awkwardly. “It was about time. I hope you will come over again soon.”

They watched until the vehicle that brought Hunith back to her place was out of sight, waving and grinning like loons and then Merlin turned towards him. “Thank you.”

They both hadn’t expected the druids to change their minds so soon and Arthur knew that they had given him something, so there might be a bigger demand towards him in the near future, but when he saw the happy smile on Merlin’s face, Arthur knew that it was worth it. Now, Hunith could visit them and they were one step further on the way of uniting magic and non-magic people.


	39. Chapter 39

Of course, the druids wanted something for giving them the rights for Merlin’s mother to visit. 

“No,” Merlin shook his head. “You’re not ready for that.”

Arthur blinked at the scroll. “What is it?”

“A test.” Starting to pace, Merlin got angrier by the second. 

“What kind of test?” Arthur knew he would take any test just to prove to them that he could do it. 

“It’s made for people with magic.”

“Oh.” He didn’t have magic. “I got pretty good at detecting Master Kyworah’s attacks…” 

“Yes, you are used to him by now, but that doesn’t mean that you can detect everyone’s magic or magic that is laid out to get you and the sorcerer isn’t even around.”

That was true. Partially. He could detect when Gaius used magic just before he turned a page in an old-fashioned book. He was able to notice when Julan reached for a cooking utensil just right before he did and he almost felt when Merlin was using it without even looking. But magic of other people? Arthur wasn’t sure about that. 

“What do I have to do exactly?”

“They want to send you into a maze and if you make it to the very end…Arthur, you’re not doing that yet.”

“What is there at the very end?”

Merlin shook his head. “We will do something else.”

“You’re confusing me. What?”

Checking some charts, Merlin nodded. “It might be a bit too early, but we’re going through with it tonight.”

“With what? Talk to me!” Arthur grabbed Merlin by the upper arm and made him look at him. “Please. This involved me just as much as it does you. Let me be part of it, so I at least know what’s coming?”

Merlin let out a sigh and leaned against him. “Remember the ritual I’ve told you about?”

“Which one?” Merlin had told him about tons of rituals. Rituals to worship the dragons, rituals to bow to the moons, rituals to cleanse the surroundings of negativity.

Merlin didn’t look happy. “The one where I introduce you to magic.”

“The one where we will find out if magic accepts me?”

Nodding, Merlin leaned against him. “It’s too early. It could harm you if you were being rejected.”

He’d been zapped and prodded by the spells Kyworah threw at him during training and they all hurt. So what would happen if magic itself rejected him? Taking a deep breath, Arthur straightened up. “I’ll do whatever I need to do.” And Merlin would be right there, so it couldn’t be too bad, could it?

Merlin checked more charts and looked up at the sky. “Tonight is as good as any night.” He grabbed a few blankets and dragged Arthur along. 

Arthur didn’t know what to expect and was slightly nervous, but Merlin was right there, so what would magic do? Fry him to a crisp? 

They found a clearing and spread the blankets on the ground. 

Merlin sat down. “Come, breathe with me.”

He didn’t know if this was just to calm him down or if it already was a part of the ritual, but Arthur did as told. He listened to Merlin’s breathing and felt some kind of warmth engulfing him. Was that Merlin’s magic? After a while, he didn’t even think about that anymore, he didn’t think anything, there was just Merlin and him, nothing else. 

To his surprise, Merlin reached over and kissed him deeply. “Let me love you.”

Nodding, Arthur clutched at Merlin’s shirt, it was as if the warmth around him was arousing as hell and he couldn’t get Merlin naked quickly enough. 

Gasping when Merlin’s eyes flashed golden and their clothes were gone, Arthur felt the breeze caressing his naked skin and he pulled Merlin down, never breaking the kiss. He didn’t care that they were outside where anyone and everything could watch them, he didn’t care that the ground was hard against his back despite the soft blankets, all that counted was that Merlin finally claimed him. 

He was so aroused that it didn’t need much preparation and soon he felt Merlin at his entrance, slowly pushing in. 

Arthur moaned into the kiss as Merlin pushed in deeper and deeper. He was bent in a bit of an awkward way, but he didn’t care. He needed his bonded. After a few gentle pushes, Merlin was in all the way and stilled for a moment. 

Looking up, a needy sound escaped Arthur’s throat. Looking at Merlin, who had his eyes closed and just enjoyed the sensations, knowing that if he opened them now they would glow golden, was such a turn-on that Arthur had to move. 

Whispering a few words in the language he always used when magic was involved, Merlin started to move with him and Arthur yelled out. What was happening? It was as if all his senses sharpened. He was focused on Merlin, what he did to him, what they did together, but at the same time he heard everything around them, the leaves moving on the trees, the grass whispering, the creatures of the forest stopping and looking their way. There was a force that pulled at him, lifted him higher, multiplied every sensation and it was as if he didn’t only feel his own arousal, but every little sensation that Merlin felt, too. It was almost too much but he never wanted this to end. 

Slowly, Merlin started radiating in rainbow colours again, his eyes at full blast golden and Arthur noticed that he, too, started to glow in the same colours. Merlin looked at him and then claimed his lips in a deep kiss again as he pushed in one final time, stilling and coming hard. 

Arthur wanted to yell out, but couldn’t. It was all too much. He felt as Merlin pulsed inside him as if he was pulsing himself as he shot his load between them. He desperately clung to Merlin, trying to kiss back with all he could give and enjoyed the onslaught of sensations. 

Slowly, they stopped radiating in colours, Merlin’s eyes turned back to their normal blue and they lay on their blanket, panting, trying to get their breaths back. Arthur had never felt better, but he noticed that he couldn’t hear the blades of grass moving or any of the other things he had felt so clearly anymore. 

Looking up into the night sky, it seemed as if the moons grinned contentedly. 

“Merlin?” He whispered when he finally got his breath back. 

“Yes.” Merlin rolled over and propped himself up on his elbow, smiling at him. 

“That…was the ritual?”

“Mhmm.” The smile turned into a grin. 

“Are all rituals like that?”

Merlin chuckled. “Unfortunately, no.”

“So just this one?”

“I told you, you would like it.” Merlin pressed a soft kiss on his lips. 

They didn’t speak for a while, before Arthur took a deep breath. “So that was magic?”

Merlin nodded. “And she accepted you.”

“Wow.” That was all that Arthur could say. If magic could heighten every sensation like this…what was it like for Merlin to go through a normal day?

“I’m glad she did. You are part of it now and no one can say something else.”

“Is it like this for you every time?”

Merlin shook his head. “No. This was special for me, too.”

Arthur would have loved to know what could have happened if magic rejected him, but then again, it was probably better not to ask and destroy the moment. He wiggled around a bit, so he could pull Merlin a bit closer. 

“Rest now,” Merlin whispered.

+++

It dawned when they woke up again. Merlin got up and collected their clothes that his magic outburst had thrown all over the clearing. When he came back, he stood over Arthur and stared.

“What?” As always, Arthur needed a bit more time to fully wake up. 

A radiant smile showed on Merlin’s face. “Look.” He pointed to Arthur’s chest. 

Scrambling up, Arthur noticed something that hadn’t been there before. He wiped at it, but it didn’t move. It took him a moment to realize that it was a triskelion. The same one that Merlin had on his neck, underneath his hairline, identical in colour and size. 

He looked up at Merlin, who fell to his knees next to him and kissed him.


	40. Chapter 40

Arthur stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom and examined the triskelion on his chest. He didn’t mind it at all, it was what Merlin had waited for and it was finally there. It hadn’t hurt to get it and he didn’t feel it, but it was visible. Especially when he wore one of the shirts Hunith had made for him. That was probably the reason for magic to give him the matching triskelion at a spot where it would at least be partially visible. 

Merlin stepped up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Arthur closed his eyes. If he were honest, he had totally forgotten about the triskelion after Merlin’s initial disappointment that he hadn’t shown it after their first night. It just wasn’t important to him, he knew that he was Merlin’s and Merlin was his. It was a big deal for Merlin, though, that he could show that they belonged together. 

Merlin looked at the triskelion in the mirror, over Arthur’s shoulder, and smiled. “Finally.”

“Do you think the druids will be nicer now? Or do they still want me to go to that maze?”

The happy smile on Merlin’s face faltered. “I’m very certain that they are going to insist on the maze. But…”

“But?”

“Magic will protect you now, you will make it through. And they know it when they see this.”

Arthur nodded. He still wasn’t certain what this weird maze thing would bring, but he felt a bit more ready to face it. “When will I have to go?”

“I’ll do my best to postpone it long enough for you to get more training with Kyworah.” Merlin kissed his shoulder. “And now get dressed, we’re going into town.”

“What are we going to do there?”

Merlin shrugged, let go and slapped Arthur’s buttock. “Just a day off? Don’t you think we deserve it?”

Arthur chuckled. “Sure. I love exploring the city. Can I drive?”

+++

They had a nice, relaxed day in the city with Arthur piloting them there and Merlin showing him parts that he hadn’t been to before. Of course, they got looks and a few bows on the street when people recognized Merlin. As Merlin had insisted that he wore a v-neck t-shirt that made the triskelion peek out, there were quite some whispers when people who saw Merlin first discovered it peeking out from underneath his shirt. 

Arthur didn’t feel so uncertain as the first time he had gone to the city alone. He had Merlin by his side and magic protected him, too. 

Merlin let him order drinks and meals, inquire about ingredients and only stepped in when he noticed that Arthur didn’t understand what the other person said. They wandered through some street markets and Merlin made him try different foods and when they got back to the vehicle in the evening, they were packed with bags that held things that they bought on the way, one of them being the same sort of fruit Arthur had gotten on his solo trip that they never got around to eat while they were fighting. 

“That was nice.” Arthur piloted them back to the house. “Thank you.”

“We needed a break. And I’m proud of you.” Merlin threw him a sideways look when they unloaded their prize. 

“Huh? What did I do?”

“It’s what you didn’t do. You brought your translator device along, but you didn’t use it once.”

Arthur stopped and blinked. It was true. He had it in his pocket, just in case, as most of the time, but he hadn’t felt being in a situation where he needed it and simply forgot about its existence. A slow smile spread on his face. “I had you to translate for me.”

“You didn’t need me to translate for you.”

“There were words I hadn’t heard before.” He insisted. 

Merlin smiled. “You would have managed without my translation.”

On the short way back to the house, Arthur walked a bit straighter. It was true, he had stumbled through Ealdorian a lot less than on his first trip and even though he still hadn’t understood everything that was said, he got the context and was able to ask about things he didn’t understand. 

+++

When they stored all their purchases away and Merlin cut the fruit up, he looked at Arthur. “There’s a message for you.”

Arthur reached for the little bowl with the fruit pieces and frowned. “A message?” From the druids? What did they want now? Couldn’t they leave them alone for a single day? Instead of an old-fashioned scroll, Merlin handed him a portable display. 

“Hey, little brother!” Morgana beamed at him from the screen and Arthur leaned against the counter. The past couple of weeks had been busy, but that hadn’t kept him from missing his sister and friends. 

“Hey Morgs.” He said, smiling, fully knowing that this was a recording and she couldn’t hear him. 

“Sorry for the radio silence since we left, there was a lot going on. Bottom line up front, we’re coming back to Ealdor. Official things about diplomatic relations and negotiations and such.”

Arthur swallowed. He had settled into his life here on the planet, but that didn’t mean he didn’t miss being needed in such situations. 

“Since we will be in orbit for a few days and you guys have a wonderful, huge garden…” Morgana grinned. “We all voted for a barbeque at your house.” Preening like only his sister could, she looked at the screen, her eyes sparkling. “I’ll let you know the details once we get closer. Love you.” She waved and ended the message. 

Arthur looked up and found Merlin grinning. “Did my sister just invite herself and the entire crew to this house?”

Merlin laughed. “Sounds like it.”

Laughing, Arthur threw a last look at the display. “That’s so her. Will the druids be pissed about this?”

“If so, you’re going through with it even bigger and better?” Merlin chuckled. 

“You bet.”  
+++

Of course, the druids had ‘carefully voiced their concerns’ about so many non-magic people at the house, but as the non-magic folks was considered diplomats from another planet, they couldn’t do much about it. Arthur wouldn’t have allowed it anyway. These were his friends and he could see them any time he liked. 

Julan had asked for recipes of Earth dishes, but together, they decided to only serve Ealdorian food. The crew should be able to experience the richness of flavours the planet held and soon, Julan and Caria were busy in the kitchen, preparing what seemed to be everything any kitchen on Ealdor had ever seen. Other people helped set up tables and decorations and Arthur was in full organizing mode. 

Merlin stepped up to him on the patio where he stood to overlook the goings-on in the garden. 

“What is it?” Merlin didn’t seem very happy. “Don’t you want to see them again? They are your friends, too?”

Swallowing, Merlin didn’t say anything for a while. “What happens when they’re leaving?”

Arthur frowned. “What do you mean ‘what happens when they’re leaving?’? They will be gone again for a while. Depending on how well the negotiations go, they will be back soon and we can see them again.”

“You’re not leaving with them?”

Turning towards Merlin, Arthur reached for his shoulder and pulled him close. “Why would I? Everything I need is here.” 

Merlin nuzzled into his neck for a moment before he pulled back. “Sorry, I’m being silly.”

Pressing a quick kiss in Merlin’s hair, Arthur rubbed his back. “I’m sorry that you have to doubt me.”

“I don’t have to doubt you. You came here, went through the ritual with me, you are part of magic.” Merlin took a deep breath. “I love you and I always fear something will happen to you.”

Arthur held on a moment longer. It wasn’t as if he didn’t have the same feelings about Merlin. “As long as you are here, nothing can happen to me.”


	41. Chapter 41

Arthur leaned back slightly. What a wonderful day! The bridge crew had arrived in the early afternoon and slowly, crew members had come and gone the way they needed, but most everybody wanted to see him. 

Morgana had hugged the stuffing out of him and Arthur had enjoyed all the handshakes and shoulder-pats that everybody had give him. 

The barbeque – which was more like a buffet – was a success and Arthur couldn’t get the smile off his face. 

He had talked all afternoon with lots of people and it had felt good to speak in Union Standard again. Merlin had fallen back into his own version of Union Standard and Arthur hadn’t realized how much he missed Merlin’s adorable version of it. 

Arthur had pondered what to wear for a long time. Should he slip into the clothes of his old life again to show that he still belonged there? Or should he dress in Ealdorian clothes to point out where his priorities were lying now? In the end, he had decided on a well-fitting pair of jeans and the simple white shirt Hunith had made for him. 

Mithy had been the first one to recognize the triskelion that peeked out and squealed like a school girl. Morgana immediately wanted to examine it, but he had pointed out that she wasn’t on a scientific mission here. He was sure that she had medi-scanned him various times throughout the day. This would have made him furious in a former life. Now he just appreciated her need of knowing that he was alright. 

It gave Arthur a little sting when learned that Leon was on the promotion list to be Captain. He was proud of his friend and the promotion was well deserved. It still left a bit of a weird feeling that Leon would be Captain of the Camelot. 

Strangely, Union Star Fleet hadn’t disassembled the crew of the ship and replaced them with members that hadn’t been part of his mutiny. Of course, there had been some fluctuation, but that was normal. Things had changed on Earth. Talking to many people, Arthur found out that the government had taken interest in the Camelot and used her as the main vessel to establish diplomatic relations with Ealdor. That wasn’t what she had been built for, but it was a worthy mission. 

Arthur leaned back in his chair, took a sip of his drink and let his eyes wander over the crew members who were still standing and sitting in groups as the sun slowly set and the beautiful double moons of Ealdor came up. He had been to many planets, but Ealdor was special. 

Gwaine came over. “Hey, man.”

“Gwaine.” He gestured towards a chair.

Sitting down, Gwaine took a sip from his bottle. “What a party.”

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Good food, good booze, great company…what’s there not to enjoy?” Gwaine grinned. 

“I’m glad.”

“So, what else is new?”

That was Gwaine, always straight to the point. Arthur chuckled. “Nothing much.”

“We all saw that you got your triskelion. How did that happen?”

Arthur grinned. Of course Gwaine would want to know all the juicy details of the ritual, but he wasn’t ready to share them. “It was just there one morning.”

“So…Merlin magic-ed it onto your chest?”

Laughing, Arthur nodded. “Something like that.”

“And they’re treating you well here?”

“They are, Gwaine. I’ve had a bit of a rough start, but now I’m fine.” There still were the druids with their weird demands, but that was nothing that he would tell Gwaine. “How about you?”

Gwaine shrugged. “Same old. But…”

“But?” What was wrong? Gwaine usually joked everything away, what was that look on his face.

A wide grin returned on the roughish face. “I’d appreciate if you guys would….save the date.” The grin turned wider.

“Save the date? Does that mean…?” 

Gwaine nodded. “We’ll send you an invite. With things changing within Union Star Fleet, we can finally make it official.” He shrugged. “We might not get promoted anyway, so…” He looked over to where Percy stood, engrossed in a conversation with one of the crew members and smiled. “Leon’s going to do the ceremony.” He looked back at Arthur. “It would be an honour if you and Merlin could attend.” 

“Of course we will. Congratulations!” Arthur knew that Gwaine and Percy had this on-again/off-again relationship for years, never admitting that they were more to each other. He was happy that they finally straightened things out. 

“Thanks. Without you, we might not have been able to do this.”

Arthur looked over. “What do you mean?”

“Well,…” Gwaine took a deep breath. “There was a huge discussion in Star Fleet after you left. Some said Star Fleet lost you because they were so…picky about same-sex relationships. They are legal on most every planet, but obviously were frowned upon in space. Some old men insisted it should stay that way while others weren’t too happy that you left over this. Star Fleet lost one of their most capable Captains, who was on the way to promotion, just because they wouldn’t allow that he loved a man.”

Arthur listened. “They wouldn’t allow that I loved an alien.”

Gwaine shrugged. “I don’t think the ‘alien’ part was the most important point. Some couldn’t believe you of all people would leave your old life behind to follow your heart.” Gwaine smiled. “You showed them.”

“And…they changed this rule now?”

“We know that it was never an official, written rule, but things start to look up and we’re taking advantage of it.” 

“I’m happy for you.” Arthur knew they had been bending the rules and then he had faced the consequences. He wouldn’t change a thing. Just thinking, though, that Merlin and him had been the reason for major change…that was big. 

“So, you’re going to be there?”

“I’ll do everything I can to make it happen.” 

+++

After this conversation, Arthur went seeking for Morgana. They had talked a bit at the beginning of the feast, but it was more the usual small-talk and him giving her a tour of the house. 

“Morgs?”

She turned and smiled at him. “This is a wonderful party. Thank you, Arthur.”

“Thank Julan and Caria and all of the others who did the work.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her. “So…,” he tried to sound causal. “What else is new?”

With their drinks in hand, they walked towards a group of chairs a bit away from everyone else and once they were seated, Morgana took a deep breath. “You’ve heard about the changes.” It wasn’t a question.

“I just heard the good news from Gwaine, but I’m not clear on the details.”

“I’m not sure I should tell you here and now.”

“Morgs, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She carefully started to describe what had happened after he had left and that the little ripple a Captain taking his leave had created a tsunami back on Earth. When Union Star Fleet had been the main force behind exploring and keeping the contact with other planets, the government had taken over and did what she called a ‘spring cleaning’ in the Star Fleet. Admiral Youngston had to step back because of his plans to use Merlin as a scientific object. 

“Father?” Arthur asked even though he knew the answer.

Morgana shook her head. “Retired.”

Oh. He hadn’t meant to make his father retire or getting retired, that had never been his intention. Father had done what he thought was right. 

Reaching over, Morgana squeezed his arm. “It’s not your fault. The old pigheaded man brought it upon himself. He always just used you for his purposes.” She grinned. “And against his will, you have developed some kind of sense and did what was good for yourself.”

“Still…he didn’t deserve this…”

“Oh, come on. He did. How many times has he been in the way of your happiness? How many times did you do something just because he wanted it? And how often did we fight with him because we knew it better and he didn’t want to see reason?”

They sat in silence for a while, Arthur knowing that Morgana was right. He couldn’t shake that little guilty voice in the back of his head, though. 

“Arthur?”

“Hm?” He looked over. 

“They are looking for an ambassador. Someone who travelled the universe, who knows how to deal with other species and who knows how to make them friends.”

Arthur just looked.

Grinning, Morgana took a sip of her drink. “I’ll just send you the requirement profile, okay?”

Shaking his head slightly, as if to wake himself out of a stupor, Arthur huffed. “Morgs, my life is here now. On Ealdor. With Merlin. And we’re not done with what we are supposed to do.” The position sounded tempting, but he wasn’t ready for anything like this. 

“And what is it that you are supposed to do?”

He shrugged. “I don’t think we have found out yet.”

+++


	42. Chapter 42

“Thank you.” Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin who stood next to him in the bathroom. 

“What for?” 

“The wonderful day.”

Merlin smiled. “It was good seeing them again, wasn’t it?”

Arthur just nodded and leaned his chin on Merlin’s shoulder. When Merlin turned his head, he kissed his cheek. 

“With everything going on, we will see them again soon.” Merlin finally turned and wrapped his arms around Arthur’s neck. “Until then…how about we get some sleep. It’s late and it’s been a long day.”

Arthur nodded and kissed Merlin’s shoulder before he let go to brush his teeth. 

When Merlin moved his pillow around, so he could snuggle against him a bit better, Arthur wrapped his arm around him and pulled him tight. If he still had any doubt where he belonged, this day had shown him that he was exactly where he wanted to be. 

“Love you.”

“Mmm.” Merlin was already half asleep. 

+++

Some of the druids hadn’t been too delighted when Arthur had shown the mark. Still, Arthur attended all the meetings and wasn’t shy in voicing his opinion or asking questions when he wasn’t clear on the history of decisions and such. 

Gaius had started teaching him the history of the planet and Arthur found that it wasn’t just a ‘in the year XY this and that happened’, but sounded a lot more like legends and stories. He still tried to get a time-line for everything that happened and Gaius seemed to be pleased that he was such an avid listener. 

When he learned that magic had accepted Arthur, Kyworah had changed the training. Arthur thought he had never been this fit, not even back in the days when he joined Union Star Fleet and went through basic training, but Kyworah didn’t spare him. His attacks came harder and a lot less foreseeable, but Arthur got better and better in noticing them before they happened. It was almost like he sensed them. He still couldn’t do anything but evade the attacks or sometimes even try to parry them, but magic helped him to avoid the worst bruises. 

Coming back to the main part of the house, Arthur dragged his feet. That he had avoided the main part of the attack didn’t mean that Kyworah hadn’t caught him. It had made him angry that the Master fighter didn’t even breathe harder in their battles and that had made him lose focus. His thigh hurt quite a bit. 

Merlin came from his study, a display in hand. “Arthur?”

“Yes?”

“Healer Morgana sent a message. And there’s an attachment.” He held out the display to him. 

Arthur smiled when he saw Morgana’s face. Since the garden party, they messaged a lot more frequently and not only Morgana sent messages since then. It was nice to stay in touch that way. It was a very short message.

‘Hi Merlin, hi little brother. Remember when we spoke about the job? I just found the posting again. Don’t think about it too long. Toodles!’

Arthur blinked and opened the attachment. Oh, the position as ambassador. A few days after the party, he had thought about it once in a while, but then totally forgotten about it as his life on Ealdor was busy. 

Merlin watched him closely. “It would suit you.”

Huffing out a laugh, Arthur shook his head. “I’m no diplomat.” He closed the attachment, smiled at the image of his sister and put the display down. 

“You can learn to be one.”

Arthur looked up. “What do you mean? I still have so much to learn here on Ealdor, I can’t just run because Morgana thinks that I would like this job.” Sweaty as he was, he wrapped his arms around Merlin. “My job is to be here, with you.”

Merlin smiled. “It’s not part of your job description to stink. Go, take a shower and then I’ll take care of your thigh. You need to be more careful.”

Arthur let go. “It was totally my fault. It’s just…he attacks me over and over again and I’m sweating like a pig and panting and wheezing, trying to foresee it and avoid it. And he’s just standing there, sometimes not even looking my way. I got annoyed. At him, at myself and that was when he got me.”

“Go, take a shower, I’ll prepare the herbs for your injury. Later, we will breathe together for a while.”

“Will meditation help with the injury?”

Merlin laughed. “No, but it’ll calm you down, so it might be easier for you to forget your anger in that situation.”

“Did you never feel angry when you got attacked?” Arthur pulled his sweaty t-shirt over his head. 

For a moment, Merlin just watched. “What? Oh…err…yes, but that’s different. I can counter attacks with magic.”

Arthur groaned. “Yup, come on, tell me again. I don’t have magic and I’m the only one.” He made a face. 

“See, that’s exactly why we will breathe later.” Merlin smiled. “Now go, take a shower.”

When Arthur had left the room, Merlin picked up the display and looked at it for a long time. 

+++

Even though the days on Ealdor were only marginally longer than the standard 24 hours Arthur had been used to, the seasons changed a lot slower. Since he’d arrived, it had been a wonderful summer with long, warm days and nice nights. Now, the leaves started turning and Arthur enjoyed walks through the woods with Aithusa. 

He had accompanied Merlin to meetings with Kigharrah a few times and it seemed that all the juvenile dragons had taken a liking to him. Each time, an adult dragon came close with its massive head to sniff at him before they allowed their offspring to come to him, Arthur’s heart was beating quickly. Merlin was a dragon lord, they needed to do as he said. Still, what kept them from just biting his head off or giving him a quick roast with their fire? 

Arthur had learned that not all dragons ate meat. Some hunted insects and others were herbivore. Merlin knew such things and Arthur tried to memorize them, too. He had also found out that not all dragons got the size of Kilgharrah. They came in all kinds of sizes and shapes and sometimes it felt as if the juvenile dragons had decided he was the perfect play companion for them. So he had run across the clearing with them, played tag and hide and seek – which usually the dragons won as their sense of smell was so much better – and didn’t mind when they just showed up from the underbrush and followed him when he took a walk or had gone for a run. 

“Merlin?” Arthur grinned when he came back after spending the last thirty minutes stroking scaly heads and noses, admiring newly-grown wings and babbling things at dragon kids.

Merlin looked up. “You’re back.”

“If they keep it up, I will need more time to say bye to them than for my actual run.” He went over to press a quick peck on Merlin’s lips. “Is there something like a treat that I could feed them?”

Merlin blinked. Then he blinked again and then burst out laughing. “A dragon-treat? The equivalent to a dog biscuit?”

“Yeah, I thought that…oh, maybe not a good idea.”

Merlin pulled him down to the couch where he had been reading. “It’s a very endearing idea, but you’d need to know what those little dragons actually eat. We don’t want to send them back from the Arthur-party with tummy aches, do we?” 

“Arthur-party?”

Merlin chuckled. “Arthur, for them, you are the treat. Not one they can eat, but they love spending time with you. They all know that you can’t command them to do anything, they do it because they like you. And the more the small dragons get used to people, the easier it will be to teach them what to do and what not to do around them.”

“So you’re saying, I’m…like a kindergarden teacher for them?”

Laughing, Merlin nodded. “Kind of. If you want to put it that way. But I’m glad that the dragons accepted you this way and trust you so much with their children.”

“That’s one for the business cards.”

“Huh?”

Arthur made a gesture with his hand. “Arthur Pendragon, Dragon Kindergarten Teacher.”

They both laughed. 

“So, what are you busy with?” 

Merlin got serious as he saw Arthur peeking at the papers he had been going through. 

“Actually, I hoped that you could clear your schedule for the afternoon.”

Arthur wiggled his eyebrows and grinned. “What exactly do you have in mind, oh mighty Emrys?” He wouldn’t mind spending the entire afternoon in bed with Merlin. They hadn’t done that in a while. Not that they could keep their hands off of each other for long, but they didn’t have time for an afternoon plus the following night together in a long time. 

Merlin shook his head slightly. “I like the way you’re thinking, but that’s not what we’re going to do.” Then he laughed at Arthur’s over-dramatic pout. 

“Alright, what are we going to do?”

“The Prime Minister asked to meet you.”


	43. Chapter 43

On the way back in the vehicle, Arthur was deep in thought. He hadn’t even asked to pilot them back, he needed to digest what he’d just learned. 

After Merlin had dropped the bomb that the Prime Minister of Ealdor wanted to meet them, Arthur wished he could still wear his uniform. Nothing he had in the closet seemed to be worthy of the occasion and he didn’t feel like wearing his cloak. Merlin helped him pick a nice pair of trousers and a white shirt, which seemed quite plain, but would do. 

Having met many dignitaries of various planets, Arthur pictured the Prime Minister as an old man with a long white beard, as so many of them were just like that. To his surprise, they were greeted by a woman who seemed to be even younger than Merlin when they were led into the room.   
“Come on in,” she waved from behind her desk, obviously still engaged in a conversation on her display. She ended that quickly and got up. 

Arthur had plastered his best friendly/curious/not-too-friendly smile on his face. 

“Captain Pendragon!” She made her way around her desk and stood before him, a lot smaller than she had seemed when she was seated. She bowed her head in what Arthur had learned was the most formal way of greeting someone here. “Lord Emrys.” She bowed again when she turned to Merlin. 

“Prime Minister.” He did the same and saw that Merlin also bowed his head. “I’m not a Captain anymore.”

She smiled widely and then made some small-talk when she led them over to a couch and some chairs where she gestured for them to sit down. 

“Captain,” she her smile widened. “You must have wondered why it took me so long to finally meet you. You have been on Ealdor for quite a while now.”

“I am sure you have a very busy schedule.” It hadn’t even occurred to Arthur that the prime minister wanted to meet him at all, so the entire invite had come as a total surprise. 

“Let me start by extending my warmest felicitations on your bond.”

Arthur smiled at Merlin and withstood the urge to take his hand. 

“We’ve been waiting for centuries for Lord Emrys to find the one who was destined for him.”

Centuries? What did she mean by saying ‘centuries’? Oh, maybe that was just one of those sayings. 

“Thank you, Madam Prime Minister.”

“Oh, just call me Lanora.”

Arthur nodded. “Arthur.”

She looked at Merlin and held back a little chuckle. “It seems Merlin has chosen well.” Then she turned back at Arthur. “As head of the government of Ealdor, I officially welcome you to the planet. You are the first person who hasn’t been born here to make it your permanent home. I hope you like it so far.”

“It is beautiful. I still have a lot to learn, but I think I made the right choice.” A few months back, he hadn’t been so sure about this, but now he was certain that Ealdor was his home. 

“You know,” now Lanora chuckled and shoved a strand of hair behind her ear that had escaped the carefully braided, very artistic looking hairdo. “There had been a discussion if we should have a big celebration on your behalf or even a parade.” When she saw Arthur’s face, she continued. “But then decided that a small gathering here would probably be more to your liking.”

It definitely was. Arthur couldn’t picture himself on a vehicle in a parade, smiling and waving at people who had lined up in the streets, the thought was weird. “I appreciate that.”

“Assuming your consent, we would like to have a tiny little ceremony where we can hand you your official certificate of citizenship. Nothing big, just some photos, a little address, you know the people of Ealdor would love to meet you.”

So that was what it felt like to be the alien. Arthur threw Merlin a look and when Merlin gave him a small nod, Arthur smiled at Lanora. “I’d never thought that my arrival here on Ealdor would be of such interest to the public, but I think that can be arranged.”

Lanora smiled and nodded. “Thank you.”

They talked about this and that while someone refilled their clogamora glasses and Arthur found that Lanora was easy to talk to and radiated a natural leadership that a lot of people in higher positions lacked. It seemed as if she and Merlin had known each other for a long time. 

“There is one more thing I would like to address.” Lanora set her glass down and it was almost as if Arthur could watch her turning from casual to official again. “As you are probably aware of, Ealdor has entered negotiations with the Union to participate in diplomatic relations and much later maybe enter the Union as a full member.”

Arthur nodded. 

“We came to the conclusion that it would be in our favour if we had someone who knows both. The way of thinking of the Union and who understands the soul of the Ealdorian people.” She looked at him. 

Arthur just listened. What exactly did she expect of him?

“We would like you to be our consultant.”

Consultant. An image of the old detective stories from Earth shot through his head and he wondered if he had to wear an old-fashioned hat as he tried to keep the giggles down. This was no joke, she meant it. 

Arthur took a deep breath. “Madam Prime Minister…Lanora…I am flattered, but I fear that my knowledge of the ‘soul of the Ealdorian people’ is still too minimal to be of any use.”

She smiled. “We are aware that after the short time you’ve been on the planet you might not be able to know everything. That’s why we would provide you with advisors to answer your questions. You already are in contact with the magic part of the population, which is a huge advantage. You would not be alone and you would not be able to make any decisions on our behalf. Just help us in understanding the ways of the Union a lot better, to see where we have the same views and where and why we differ on some things.”

Arthur still didn’t know what to say, which was rare. 

“I understand that you need some time to think about this. If you could let me know about your decision in…let’s say two weeks’ time…I’d appreciate it.”

+++

“Did you know about this?” Arthur finally asked as they made it half distance back to the house. There had been more pleasantries but it was clear that the meeting was over. 

Merlin shook his head. “I knew about the ‘welcome to Ealdor’ part. She blind-sided me with the proposal, too.”

“What do you think?”

Merlin threw him a side-ways smile. “Lanora and I go way back when she was a little activist in one of the smaller cities on the other side of the planet. I could not feel her having any other intentions than to have someone who knows both worlds to be able to make better decisions for Ealdor.”

“So she wouldn’t want me to spy on the Union?” He wasn’t a part of the Union anymore, but he had signed contracts and if he was to agree to this, he needed to check in how far he was still bound to secrecy. 

“I don’t think she means it like that. She wants to be able to understand the Union and you could be of invaluable help with that as you are basically…a child of the Union.”

A child of the Union. That’s how they saw him. Then again, they were not too far off with this assessment. 

“Don’t you think the druids would run amok if I agreed to this?”

Merlin blew out a deep breath. “There might be some who will try to influence you a lot more. But we can keep them in check.”

Arthur threw him a look. “With some kind of ritual again…” It wasn’t even a question. 

“Yes.”

So Merlin had a plan to go through with this ritual that he had deemed to dangerous only a few weeks ago. Thoughts were swirling in Arthur’s mind. The offer sounded really interesting and it was something he could probably do, with a little help of Ealdorian advisors. He would also learn a lot of things about Ealdor if he accepted. Not only the magic side of the equation, as he had so far. But…wouldn’t that mean betraying the Union? 

When they were back at the house and finally in bed, Arthur tossed and turned, his thoughts still all over the place. How could Merlin sleep like a baby right next to him? Finally, he scrambled up and went over to the living room, where he paced for a while before he sat down on the couch in a place where he could see the stars and looked at them as if they held the answers.


	44. Chapter 44

Morgana beamed at him from the screen. “I’m proud of you.”

Arthur chuckled. He had sent her the news footage of the little ceremony in which Lanora had presented him with a citizenship certificate and where hands had been shaken and they had all put on smiles. Lanora had made a little speech and he had to say a few words, too. “Guess, now it’s official.”

“It was official before, but you do look good in this footage.” 

The Camelot was in orbit again but they hadn’t managed to meet in person yet. 

“Not sure if you will still be proud of me after this.”

She gave him a warning look. “What did you do now?”

Taking a deep breath, Arthur told her about the offer of working as a consultant to the Ealdorian government. He had spent days and nights researching and going through his old contracts to find anything that might prevent him from doing it. Of course, he was sworn to secrecy in various areas and he had every intention of sticking to his oaths. 

The further he got in telling her about it, the wider her smile became. “So, you’re working for Ealdor, not the Union. That’s wonderful.”

“If this works out and I get a bit more experience in diplomacy, we might talk about that ambassador job again.” He joked. But it was exactly what Merlin had said. Merlin seemed to be very sure that this was the path that lay ahead for him, but at the moment, he was just excited. 

Morgana smiled. 

“What?”

“Look at you. All your life you did things because they were expected of you. Now, that you finally make your own decisions, you are shining even brighter.”

That had been part of his indecisiveness in the past days. Since he’d been a boy, his career had been planned out for him. People encouraged him in what was ‘the right thing to do’. Now, it was his decision and even though that felt liberating, it was also a bit scary. A million times he had asked himself ‘what if’? 

“There’s one thing, though.”

“Anything I can help with?”

Arthur shook his head. He would have to do this alone. “Thanks, but no.”

“What is it?”

“You know that some of the druids still aren’t certain that I am this man from the legend.”

She grinned. “So, are you?”

“We are about to find out.”

“How?”

“There’s a ritual, a test. All I know is that I have to go through a maze and solve what is waiting for me at the end.”

The playful grin vanished from her face. “And it involved druids and magic? That sounds dangerous.”

“Magic will be my ally in this. She already accepted me.”

Morgana blinked. “What do you mean, she accepted you?”

Thinking back to the night of that ritual, Arthur blushed. “Merlin…we did a thing…and Merlin asked magic about me at that time…and she accepted me. Morgana, magic is amazing.” He got a bit hot under the collar just thinking about it. 

“Accepted….so he called his magic and it said ‘oh well, he’s not half bad’?”

Arthur chuckled. “Yes, something like that. So she will protect me while I am in the maze.”

“Doesn’t mean that the druids are not trying to beat you up.”

“I know.”

“Be careful.”

He nodded. “I will.”

“And when you are through and solved this riddle at the end, send me a message. We might not be here much longer this time.”

“You’ll be the first one to know.”

She sighed. “Arthur?”

“Hm?”

“Take good care of yourself.”

+++

There had been more training and Merlin, Gaius and Kyworah had told him everything they knew about the maze. It hadn’t been used in ages as nobody had been deemed worthy to even try and it could hold some pretty tricky magic. 

Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 

“I will be with you all the way.” Merlin whispered and Arthur just nodded before he turned and pressed a kiss on his lips. 

“Have the leaves and salves ready on the other side.” Arthur knew that if he made it through, he would be battered and bruised. 

Actually, Merlin was not supposed to help him and he wouldn’t rely on it, but he was grateful for the meditation they did before they came here. He closed his eyes and tried to reconnect with magic. He had felt it clear and strong while he was listening to Merlin breathing and while he knew that it wouldn’t feel so strong without Merlin by his side, he knew how to reach out for it. 

Alator, who had been his best spokesman in druid circles and who had voiced his belief that the maze wouldn’t be necessary after magic accepted him, nodded. “We will be waiting on the other side.”

Arthur nodded, took a deep breath and when he opened his eyes, the maze had opened up for him. 

Later, he couldn’t recall everything that had happened in there, but a few steps in, magic had come to him and guided him through. He dodged the attacks and sensed the traps, knew that dangerous looking creatures were illusions and just followed the way magic showed him. It didn’t mean that it had been easy. He had to run, duck, throw himself into the dirt, his all-black sports outfit that was clinging to him like a second skin was dirty, full of twigs and leaves and ripped in places. He had obtained a little cut on his right cheekbone and a couple of bruises from where he had to drop down without a warning. But he made it through to the other side. 

Beaming, Arthur put his hands on his thighs, and leaned forward, panting, trying to catch his breath. He had expected that Merlin would throw himself at him once he made it to the exit, laughing and kissing his sweaty face, but when he lifted his head, he just saw Merlin standing there. Alator was right next to him, so the other druids couldn’t be far, even though they were still hidden in the forest around them. 

“I did it.” 

“Arthur…”

“What?” Gosh, what had he done wrong? Had he failed? 

“There’s one more thing.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake. Wasn’t running through a maze, being attacked left, right and center for more than an hour not enough? Arthur straightened up again and then followed Merlin’s gaze. 

It was like a single moon beam lit a huge rock and on top of the rock, there was a handle of a weapon visible. Arthur blinked. “You…you want me to…”

Alator nodded. “It is written that the one for Emrys can remove it.”

“The sword in the stone.” Arthur blinked. You’ve got to be fucking kidding. 

“It is said it’s a longish dagger, not a sword, but nobody alive has ever managed to pull it out.”

Arthur didn’t know if he should groan or laugh hysterically. This was a joke, wasn’t it? Looking at first Alator’s and then Merlin’s assured him that it wasn’t for them. They meant it. They wanted him to be a king of legends, pulling some poke-y weapon out of a stone. Running through the maze, he had been so sure that all of this was right and he was proving that he was the right one for Merlin. Looking at the stone, his confidence faltered. Nevertheless, he stepped closer. It would suck to fail this test here, but he had come so far, he could at least try. 

He tried to reach out to magic again, but his thoughts and emotions were tumbling through him too much to make contact. 

“Just believe in yourself, Arthur. You can do it.”

Arthur knew that Merlin hadn’t said that out loud. He had heard him in his head. Taking a deep breath, he reached for the handle. It was almost odd how a deep calm spread through him the moment his hand touched the metal. It was as if it had been waiting for him. Pulling slightly, Arthur watched how the blade slid out of the stone without much effort. 

He didn’t hear Merlin laugh at first as he stared at the shortsword and he didn’t feel the moonlight shining even brighter at him. How had he done that? 

Merlin wrapped his arms around him and patted his back quite forcefully as Alator took a deep bow. 

“Pendragon.”

Slowly, the druids came from the woods and one after the other bowed before him. Some whispered “Pendragon”.

Arthur was too baffled to do anything about it. He didn’t want the druids groveling at his feet, he just wanted them to accept him as the man by Merlin’s side. 

Slowly, he turned his head and found Merlin grinning widely at him. 

“Let’s take you home, Arthur.”

Arthur was everything at once: Tired, thrilled, aching, rejuvenated, but mostly, he was confused. But he needed to ask Merlin about this weird use of his last name another time. “Yeah…can we…can we go?”

Merlin turned to the druids. “We will celebrate in two days’ time. Now, I will take Pendragon home. He needs rest.”

When Merlin wrapped his arm around his waist and led him away, Arthur just managed to put one foot in front of the other. If he had seen himself, he would have laughed. In black sports gear, looking all messed up, his right hand clutching the handle of the shortsword. Now he just wanted to lie down and let Merlin take care of his bruises.


	45. Chapter 45

Arthur was standing in the middle of the bedroom, unable to do anything at all. He was in a haze, his body not obeying his thoughts. 

Merlin buzzed around him. 

“Come, let’s get you out of these clothes.”

“Can’t move.”

Merlin smiled. “I knew she would do it.”

“Huh?”

“Magic, she guided you through the maze, didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“And now you feel drained.” 

If Arthur had some energy to spare, he would find the knowing and satisfied smile on Merlin’s face highly annoying. Now he just managed an agreeing sound. 

Merlin came over and gently took the shortsword out of Arthur’s hand. “We’ll put it right here.” He set it down on the nightstand. 

Will I have to sleep next to this thing forever now? Before Arthur could grasp the thought, it was gone. 

Trying to remove Arthur’s shirt, Merlin gently pulled and tried to make Arthur lift his arms. Arthur didn’t move. He knew he should have just shed his clothes and taken a shower and then flomped down on the bed for Merlin to do his thing with the cuts and bruises. Obviously, magic was taking its toll on him. 

“It will get better. The more often you connect, the easier it gets.”

He never wanted to connect with magic ever again if this was the outcome. Then again, hey, he was still alive. 

With a bit of flashy golden eyes and a murmured spell, Arthur felt his clothes being removed. Another charm later, it felt as if he wasn’t dirty or sweaty anymore. 

Merlin walked around him to examine the damage. Under other circumstances, Arthur would have shivered under Merlin’s scrutinizing gaze. Now, he was just too beat up. 

“Can you lie down or do you need help with that, too?” Merlin teased.

Arthur just stumbled towards the bed and unceremoniously fell onto it. Not only his face hurt where he obtained a cut, his chest felt much the same. When he glanced down, he saw a nasty gash right across his triskelion mark. “No.”

Merlin was right there. “Don’t worry about it. We got this. You will be as good as new.”

+++

He slept for an entire day, but when he woke up, Arthur felt refreshed. Nothing hurt and even the cut on his face and the gnash on his chest were gone without even leaving a tiny scar. Scrambling into a pair of sweatpants that were lying nearby, Arthur got up. If he got a good cup of clogamora and some omelette or something now, the day would start out perfectly.

“Good morning.” He entered the kitchen, scratching at his chest.

Julan, who was preparing something, let go of the utensils and bowed deeply. “Pendragon.”

“Julan…it’s just Arthur. Nothing has changed.”

Slowly, Julan straightened up again. “A lot of things have changed.”

It was too early for such a discussion. “Is there still some clogamora left?”

“I’ll brew you a fresh cup. Anything else I can do for you?”

Usually, Arthur would have objected and asked to at least help. Today, he was happy that someone else would do it for him. “An omelette would be great.”

“Veggies? Cheese? Onions?”

“Veggies…and a tiny bit of cheese?” Arthur grinned. Julan knew his eating habits a lot better than anyone else around here. 

“I’ll bring it out as soon as it’s ready.”

“Thank you.” Arthur turned to leave, but then turned back. “You know, Julan…you don’t have to do this.”

“It’s an honour doing it for Emrys and Pendragon.” Julan smiled. 

Arthur still didn’t really know how to handle, so he nodded once. “I want you to know that I really appreciate it.”

+++

After deciding it was already a bit too chilly outside to just sit there bare-chested, Arthur found a t-shirt and then went out to the patio. 

“Good morning, my boy.”

Looking up, Arthur smiled. Only one person on the entire planet greeted him this way. “Gaius!” Then his smile faltered. “I wasn’t aware that we had scheduled a language lesson for today?”

“We did not.” The old man shook his head. “I was just in the area and wanted to congratulate you on mastering the maze and pulling the sword out of the stone.”

“Thanks.” Arthur pointed to the chair across the small table. “I would like to ask something.”

Gaius sat down. Arthur had learned long ago that the disapproving eyebrow of doom was something that was just always on Gaius’ face and didn’t mean he didn’t like you. “Go ahead.”

Arthur took a deep breath. “I do understand that Emrys is not only Merlin’s last name…it’s more of a title.”

Gaius nodded and helped himself to Arthur’s clogamora when Julan brought him a cup. 

“But why did people start calling me ‘Pendragon’?”

Merlin joined them and pressed a kiss on Arthur’s temple. “It’s good to see you’re back with us.”

Gaius watched the exchange and smiled. “Would you like to explain, Merlin?”

Shrugging, Merlin took a sip of Arthur’s cup. “It’s the same.”

“What do you mean ‘it’s the same’?”

“Just like Emrys is my title, Pendragon is yours.”

“Huh?”

Gaius spoke up. “You never researched where your name comes from, did you?”

He had never felt the need. 

“It does have a meaning, especially here on the planet.”

“Well, then…what does it mean?” Jackass of the century or something?

“It means as much as ‘highest leader’ or ‘first warrior’.”

Arthur blinked, confused. “I’m not the highest leader, in fact, I’m not leading anything.”

“You are at Merlin’s side, which makes you a leader.” Gaius sipped his tea. 

“And you have been leading the Camelot for years.” Merlin smiled at him as if all of this wasn’t worth mentioning. 

“So…my name made me do all this?”

Gaius shook his head. “It was just a name until last night. It is a title now.”

Arthur leaned against Merlin and poked at the left-overs of his omelet with his fork. “This is confusing.”

Merlin pressed another kiss on his temple. “You will get used to it.”

“And until then? What are people expecting of me now?”

“Until then, we party.” Merlin grinned. 

Arthur had noticed the activity around the house. “Why?”

“The return of Pendragon.”

It all sounded so easy and if it made sense when Merlin said it. 

“And what am I going to do in all this?”

“Celebrate.”

+++

The first part of the feast went as expected. Boring speeches, the druids swearing him loyalty, they gave him a fancy belt he could carry Exibur – he hadn’t known that the sword had a name until then – in and cheered when he put it on. The extra weight on his hip felt a bit strange but he also felt protected and a bit more as if he held not only a title, but was up to what was expected of him to do in this role. It still felt a bit odd that they all addressed him as ‘Pendragon’, but he would get used to it eventually. 

The following feast was something Arthur had never seen before. He knew that they had been preparing all this for two days and there had been a lot of people involved. Those druids, whom he thought were boring and humourless, knew how to party. There was food he had never even heard of, so plenty that they could have fed an entire village for days and lots of drinks in various colours that they expected him to try. In quick succession, Arthur drank with everyone who approached him. There was singing and dancing until late into the night and Arthur felt like he had never had so much fun in his entire life. 

“Come on,” Merlin slipped his arm around his waist. “It’s time to go.”

The sun already peeked over the horizon, some druids had retreated already, some had just fallen asleep where they last stood or sat, the party was over. 

“But…Imtryingto…wannatalk…to….”

“Yes, you can talk to Gehandar at the next meeting.” Merlin nodded at the tall druid. 

“But…” He leaned heavily on Merlin. “Is implite to…go…leave…away…”

“He will understand.” Merlin smiled and gently dragged him back to the house. 

Arthur was fast asleep before his head even touched the pillow.


	46. Chapter 46

Arthur had no idea what had been worse: The first time Kyworah had beaten him up with magic, the way he felt when he stumbled out of the maze or now? He was very sure that he had puked a lot more than he had eaten in days and his stomach still revolted against all the alcohol he had at the feast. His head was absolutely killing him and the slightest noise in the house or a tiny ray of light that managed to get in, made him feel like dying. 

He heard Merlin padding in again, his bare feet way too loud against the floor and Arthur was sure that he made that much noise while exchanging the bucket in front of the bed on purpose. 

“Arthur,” Merlin whispered and even that hit him like a freight train, “You need to drink a bit of this.”

A while ago, or maybe hours, who knew that exactly?, Merlin had brought in a mug and the smell of the liquid in it had made him throw up again. How could Merlin be so cruel to expect him to drink this?

Carefully, Merlin tried to help him up a bit and held the mug against his lips. A bit of the liquid got into his mouth, but he refused to actively drink. His stomach couldn’t do it and he was dying anyway, so why drink some tea or whatever that was?

Arthur had never felt so lousy in his entire life. 

“Please,” Merlin whispered. “You need to drink this before you can take the leaf.”

Swallowing against whatever was trying to make its way up, Arthur slightly shook his head. Ow. Even that hurt. But he couldn’t imagine putting anything into his mouth now. 

Merlin didn’t give up and bothered him with the cup against his lips again and again until he slowly felt a bit more awake and had more of the liquid in him. Very slowly, he scrambled up a bit. 

“Merlin, I’m dying. My head is going to explode.”

Handing him a leaf, Merlin grinned. “Just put this on your tongue, don’t eat it, just let it rest there and let it do its job.”

Arthur did as told, closed his eyes again and leaned back against the headboard. It took a while, but slowly, his headache was just a faint echo in the background.

“Good?” Merlin grinned.

“Bib bebber.” He murmured around the leaf on his tongue. 

“Can you get up?”

It looked as if Merlin had way too much fun seeing him suffering like that. 

“Gib me a mimube.” 

Merlin opened the windows and Arthur squinted against the light, but at least it didn’t needle his brain anymore. If he were honest, the fresh air felt good and the stench of him sweating out the alcohol slowly vanished. 

“They were trying to kill me, weren’t they?” 

Holding out a little plate to him, Merlin grinned. “Put the leaf here. And no, they were just celebrating.”

“And testing if I can hold my liquor.”

“That, too.” Merlin laughed. “But this way, you got around helping cleaning up.”

“I’d rather helped. But hey, you guys could market whatever is in that leaf, you’d make a fortune.”

Merlin chuckled. “Probably.”

Arthur carefully swung his legs over the edge of the bed. “Gosh, I need a shower.”

“You do. And after that, we go out.”

Making a face, Arthur got up. “Where are we going to?”

“I just want to show you one of my favorite places.”

“Does it involve long hikes?”

“No, not today.”

“Alright.”

+++

A while later – Merlin had piloted them as close to his special place as possible and it had only been another ten-minute hike – they were at the side of a hill, overlooking the gorgeous landscape.

“Just up here and we can sit down.”

Arthur smiled. He knew this place. It was the exact spot Merlin had recreated on the holo deck that one time and it looked exactly like that. All he could hear was the wind in the trees behind them and some birds chirping. When Merlin sat down, leaning his back against a tree, Arthur moved around and lay down, putting his head in Merlin’s lap. 

“Thank you.”

“Hm?” Merlin played with some strands of Arthur’s hair absent-mindedly. 

“For getting me through the past couple of days and now taking me here. Thank you for showing me this place back on the Camelot. And for being there when I had too much to drink.”

Merlin smiled. “You got through the past couple of days because you could do it. You are Pendragon. And you were there for me when I drank with Gwaine, so…turnabout is fair.”

Arthur didn’t say anything to that. His role as Pendragon, as first leader or warrior, was still rather unclear to him. 

“Magic already knew back on the Camelot that we would be in this place one day.”

Closing his eyes, Arthur just enjoyed Merlin’s fingers in his hair. “It felt like my world had gotten very small when I first came here.”

Merlin listened. 

“But now, after all this…it feels like a whole new world is waiting for us.”

He felt Merlin huffing out a breath. 

“What?”

“I like that. I really like that.”

Arthur knew he would start his consulting job in not too long and before that, he would meet up with his advisors to be briefed for the first meeting he had to attend. There had been moments in the past few days where he doubted that it had been the right decision. Now he was looking forward to it. 

“Arthur?”

“Hm?”

“Stop thinking. Just take in the moment.”

Chuckling slightly, he listened to Merlin’s even breathing. They had meditated in this spot before, even though it had been artificial back then. The real thing was a lot better and very soon, the shadows of the headache that had still lurked in the far back of his head, were gone and he felt relaxed and at ease.


	47. Chapter 47

Briefings. Briefings he could do. He was used to them and he knew why they were important. If he had to have another briefing before the actual meeting, though, Arthur would scream. There had been briefings about what to wear, what he should do with his hair, if he should acknowledge the delegates of the Union at all and finally, some briefings about the content and intent of the first meeting he was to attend. 

He was just there as an observer, he would not actively participate, but later give his opinion to Lanora. 

Still, Arthur was annoyed. What did it matter if his hair was not really what was fashionable on the planet? He liked it short in the back and a bit longer on top, the way he could have gotten away with as a member of a star fleet crew. He loved Merlin’s wild untamable pelt, but that wasn’t for him. And under no circumstances would he go for either the bald or long-haired looks the druids preferred. It wasn’t his fault that being blond was a rare occurrence here on Ealdor, he would not change the colour of his hair. 

The next discussion about his clothes was just as exhausting. He couldn’t wear the ceremonial clothes that Hunith had made for him but he didn’t want to show up in what seemed to be the uniform of the officials. Merlin had come up with the idea of a mixture of both, which would show his role as a consultant but also his connection to the magic world. Lanora had supported him in this and in the end he wore something that looked a lot like the official uniform, just without any insignia and an added kind of cape that wasn’t as voluminous as his red cloak. 

Arthur knew these negotiations were important and he was excited to be a tiny part of them. But even being caught in a heap of regulations in his days in star fleet, there were lots of things that boiled down to ‘just read the room’. Ealdor never had such close contact with delegates of another planet, they felt like they had to control everything they could. Arthur knew all this, but it was still difficult to not scream ‘Just relax!’ once in a while. 

It was nice to see people from the Union again, not all of them being from Earth and Arthur knew he would greet some of the familiar faces a bit later. His name had been on the list of attendees, so they wouldn’t be surprised to see him. 

He checked is display again, so it was ready to take notes if he felt that the Ealdorians had issues understanding the Union’s way of thinking. That was what he was here for and yet, he couldn’t help his mind wandering when they went through the endless part of introductions. 

‘Hey, Arthur…do you want Hashtahi soup with dinner?’

Arthur closed his eyes for a moment when he heard Merlin’s voice in his head. He tried not to laugh. Leave it to Merlin to ask something that trivial during a meeting. Their connection had grown stronger since he mastered the maze, but he had still not managed to actively send thoughts to Merlin when Merlin wasn’t already focused on it. ‘Middle of meeting’ he thought so hard that he frowned. 

‘I know. So yes or no?’

‘Yes’ Merlin knew that he liked the rich, creamy soup that had something in it that tasted like pasta but was some kind of fruit. He focused back on the introductions. 

From Union side it was a pretty standard meeting, just a lot of politeness and trying to find out what the other side wanted. Still, the atmosphere was friendly, yet cautious, as it was in most of those meetings. Pretty standard, nothing out of the ordinary. 

Leaving the room two hours later, Lanora threw him a look and Arthur nodded. After the little reception where they would mingle and talk less formally to get to know each other, she expected to see him to get his opinion. 

Arthur waited for the main people had left the room before he handed his display to one of his advisors, straightened his jacket, plastered a smile on his face and stepped out into the reception area. He let his eyes wander over the assembled crowd, took a glass of what looked like champaign off a waiter’s tray and wondered who would approach him first. The liquid in his glass was non-alcoholic and he was grateful that he had learned the difference. After the feast with the druids, he wasn’t too keen on alcohol for a while. 

“My, my, if this isn’t Arthur Pendragon.”

Closing his eyes for a moment, Arthur took a deep breath before he turned around and smiled a rather fake smile. 

“Never thought I’d see you again after that stunt you pulled.”

“Valiant.” Arthur nodded. They knew each other from academy. He smiled small-lipped. 

“Mutiny is a serious offense.”

He knew that Valiant was always seeking confrontation. He had nothing much to offer and Arthur wondered how he had even made it up the ranks high enough to be attending this meeting, or rather just hang out at the reception as Arthur hadn’t seen him in the room. 

“What brings you here?” 

“I just wanted to see if you’re really playing for the other team now.” Valiant sneered. 

Arthur took a sip of his drink. “I made my choices. I had to do what was best for me.”

“You had a fucking duty towards Union star fleet!”

“Union star fleet failed me. I had to make a decision, which I certainly will not discuss with you. Hope you’re enjoying the reception.” Arthur nodded his head and approached Lanora’s crowd. 

He didn’t let it show, but he was shaking on the inside. Arthur knew that a lot of people in star fleet saw it that way. He was the bad guy, running away with the first pretty face, a male one on top of everything. But this was the first time he had said it out loud. Star Fleet had failed him, too. They tried to force him to be someone he wasn’t. It felt liberating to finally admit that. 

“Arthur!” Lanora smiled and then introduced him to the dignitaries.

Some just nodded, some did the “The Arthur Pendragon? Son of Admiral Pendragon?”, which he just acknowledged with a smile or a nod. Some asked a few questions about his new life on Ealdor and he could only answer with a “I’ve never been happier in my entire life.” Which was not a very diplomatic answer, he knew, but it was true. He had a life here now, a wonderful partner, a function, a job. His life had a meaning again. 

+++

“Hey, Consultant Pendragon!” Merlin greeted him with a wide smile. “How was it?”

Arthur removed his cape and then opened his jacket. “As expected.”

“That boring?”

“Well,” Arthur kicked off his shoes and sighed, “You know these things. Lots of tactical manoeuvering while assuring the other side that they love them so much.”

Merlin chuckled. “So this is over for now?”

Arthur nodded. It had been the third meeting of this kind and the delegates of the Union went back to the Camelot to be able to speak out of earshot of any Ealdorian spies. He had a few meetings with Lanora and her most inner circle and began to see where he was of value for her, knowing how the Union functioned and what was behind certain offers. 

“Then I have a surprise.” Merlin smiled. 

“Oh, please, no more surprises.” They usually meant druids or fittings or magic attacks or pulling Exibur out of stones and such. 

“You will like this one.”

Arthur dropped down on the couch, leaned his head back and closed his eyes. “I’m only going when I know what we’re going to do.”

Merlin leaned over and pressed a kiss on his temple. “Alright. Now that you have a few days off and I have a few days off before the next ritual, we could get away for a bit.”

“What do you mean? ‘Get away’?”

Merlin handed him a mug and sat down on the coffee table before him. “I thought…there are more places on Ealdor you should see. 

Arthur’s eyebrow did a Gaius.

Chuckling, Merlin shook his head. “No hiking through woods, no long walks, no runs and….no mazes.” He grinned widely. “Just you and me.”

“That sounds heavenly.” Arthur lifted his head off the back of the couch.


	48. Chapter 48

It was. Heavenly. Arthur didn’t know what to expect when Merlin pointed to packed bags and led him to the vehicle after a quick shower and changing into jeans and sneakers. It had been quite the drive but even though he was tired, he tried not to miss the changing landscape and anything he hadn’t seen before. Merlin stopped the vehicle when they pulled up to a little chalet that looked sturdy and hidden between trees at the side of a mountain. The view into the valley was breath-taking and Arthur stood there and admired it when Merlin already took their bags into the house.

After a while, Merlin stepped up behind him and wrapped his arms around his waist, putting his head on Arthur’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”

Arthur turned his head slightly. “How do you always know just what I need?”

Merlin grinned. “Magic?”

Laughing, Arthur turned in Merlin’s arms and kissed him. “Thank you. It’s been a tough couple of days and I think this is just right.”

“Wanna see the inside?” Merlin motioned towards the little chalet. “We can sit out on the patio when the the sun sets later, it’s stunning.”

Arthur let Merlin show him the rooms and they were all the right mixture between modern and cozy. He gaped when he saw the swimming pool that was built in a way that gave you the illusion you were swimming towards the horizon without any barriers. There was some kind of jacuzzi powered by natural hot springs and the patio Merlin had mentioned gave way to the same view Arthur had admired when they arrived. 

Sighing deeply, Arthur stood at the railing. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Nothing…”

Merlin nudged him with his elbow. 

“It’s just…I took you to planet surfaces and bought you little trinkets and you? You do this for me.”

Huffing out a chuckle, Merlin turned and leaned his back against the railing as he looked at Arthur. “You mean…you made me the first Ealdorian to set foot on other planets, gave me things that are unique and showed me the vastness of space? Yes, that’s nothing compared to a bit of nice landscape and a little get-away.” He smiled. 

“Still…I can barely do anything like that to surprise you anymore.”

The smile slid off Merlin’s face. “You’re surprising me every day.”

Frowning, Arthur shook his head. 

“Arthur…look how far you’ve gotten. You came here, not speaking the language, not knowing the customs, not really knowing what lay ahead of you – which was mostly my fault and I’m still sorry. You dealt with druids, dragons and the government and you are a vital part of our community. You connected with magic and you proved to everyone that you are the one chosen for me.”

“That’s just…what I had to do.” Arthur shrugged. 

“Don’t downplay your achievements like that.” Merlin wrapped an arm around him. 

“But they are not really surprises to you?”

“I knew you could do it and I’m very grateful that you did. From the moment on when you just went into the city to casually have a clogamora and buy some fruit on a market, I knew you would.” Merlin smiled. “I’m sorry I made so many mistakes when you first came here.”

Arthur leaned against Merlin. “You thought it would be so much info that I couldn’t process it, I understand that now.”

They stood there in silence for a while.

“I know you’re tired,” Merlin whispered. “But how about I just make us a quick salad and we have dinner on the patio, enjoy the sun setting and the moons rising and then get a good night’s sleep?”

“Sounds perfect.” Arthur didn’t let go of Merlin right away. He had the feeling he had never met anyone who understood him so well. 

+++

Arthur leaned against the door frame. They had been at the chalet for a couple of days now and he had relaxed quite a bit since their arrival. Their days were filled with swimming, reading – Arthur couldn’t even remember when he last read a text just for the fun of it – cooking together, having meals and making love. 

He had felt Merlin getting up and when he didn’t come back, he had scrambled out of bed to see what kept him. What he saw now took his breath away. 

Merlin was out on the patio, in all his naked glory, just standing still, his face turned up. The moons of Ealdor caressed his pale skin, and made every curve and sharp angle look even more delightful. After a while, it seemed as if Merlin’s skin started to glow in the same light the moons gave off, there was a silvery aura around him and it almost looked as if Merlin was recharging, feeding off the moonlight. 

Arthur had never seen anything more ethereal. He knew he should have been surprised, but it started feeling as if nothing magic did could really surprise him. It was magic, what else was there to say about it? He still felt deeply humbled that he was allowed to witness this. 

Slowly, Merlin opened his eyes and held out his hand. His eyes were glowing the same silvery blue as his skin.

What was this? A ritual? A ceremony? Another test?

Padding out on the patio, Arthur reached for Merlin’s hand. He didn’t know what he expected to happen, but watched in amazement when the fine shimmering aura that surrounded Merlin’s body expanded and crept up his arm. It left a tingly sensation as it spread and finally, they both were engulfed. It wasn’t only on his skin, it felt as if it went through his entire body and when it finally faded a while later, Arthur felt somehow different. 

“What…what was that?”

+++

With the glow from the moons gone, it got chilly outside pretty fast, so they went back inside. 

“I didn’t think it would happen so soon.” Merlin murmured in wonder. 

“What? Merlin, you’re doing it again. Talk to me!” Arthur felt shut out.

Merlin motioned towards the comfy chairs in the corner of the luxurious bedroom. 

If this was another big talk, Arthur wouldn’t do it naked, so he found his sweatpants and the t-shirt Merlin had tossed aside after peeling him out of it. When Merlin saw him do that, he did the same. 

“Sit.”

Arthur did, at the edge of the seat, waiting for an explanation. “What was this? Another test? Did you bring me here for that?”

“No. As I said, I didn’t think it would happen so soon. I had no idea what the moons had in store for us.”

“Well, what did they?” Arthur felt anger welling up. This was once again one of the situations that Merlin had expected but said nothing about and it blind-sided him completely. 

Taking a deep breath, Merlin began to speak. “You have asked me once how old I am, back at Seven Below.”

Arthur nodded, he remembered that moment rather vividly. 

“And I told you that I am very old.”

“I thought that was a joke. You seem to be younger than me.”

Merlin chuckled and then looked at Arthur. “Emrys is not only a title. It has a meaning as well.”

Arthur felt his throat go dry. 

“It means as much as ‘cannot die’ or…’immortal’.”

Blinking, Arthur leaned back for a moment and then straightened up again. “Are you trying to tell me that you are those centuries old that Lanora mentioned?” He waited for the twinkle to come back to Merlin’s eyes, that moment where he knew exactly that Merlin was taking him on and having a hell of a good time with it, too. But Merlin just looked at him. 

“You have noticed that days on Ealdor are longer and it takes the planet a lot longer to go around the sun than your planet does, right?”

Of course he had noticed, but after a few weeks of adjusting, he didn’t pay it much attention. 

“Ealdorians have a larger life span, too. So…everyone here is ancient for you.”

Arthur’s heart was beating hard and fast in his chest. “How…ancient?”

Merlin smiled. “Calculated back to what you are used to…I’m about 1500 Earth years old.”

A hysterical giggle bubbled up in Arthur’s throat. Nobody got that old. “Oh, come on!”

“It is true.”

“And…” Arthur sensed that Merlin was dead serious. “You are immortal? That means, you will get as old as those turtles on Vlahandos?”

Now Merlin chuckled. “Something like that. It doesn’t mean I’m invincible and I can’t be injured or killed, but if nothing bad happens, yes, it means I will get even older than the turtles on Vlahandos.”

Arthur blinked again. The typical life span of a human on Earth had extended a lot in the past millenia, but it was still just a fraction of what Merlin had already lived to see. “I…for you…I will be gone soon.” He was only in his mid-thirties, if all went well, he would have another…about 100 years in him. And Merlin would watch him grow old and then…he swallowed hard…he would have to leave Merlin on his own again. 

Merlin smiled and reached for his hand. “Not after tonight.”

“Huh?”

Lifting Arthur’s hand to his lips and pressing a kiss on the back of it, Merlin smiled. “In our ritual, when magic accepted you, I also asked her to remedy this. She said, she had to consult the moons.”

“What?”

“She can’t decide on her own, so she consulted the moons. It had been done before, but usually, the moons take their time to reach a decision. That’s why I was so surprised that it happened already. You’re not even here for a year.”

Arthur frowned. “Wait…wait a minute…you asked magic to ask the moons to…not make me age?”

“I asked her to find a way that I can be with you forever. Selfish, I know. I’m sorry.”

He still tried to wrap his mind around it. “That means…you’re immortal…and now I am, too?” That was something he had never wasted a thought about as it was just not possible. But this was Ealdor, a lot of things he had thought impossible had happened and were real. 

“We’ll have to see about that, but at least, you will age a lot slower.”

“And that’s what the moons did with making you glow?” Arthur looked at his hand, it didn’t look different. 

“If you want to put it that way, yes.” Merlin smiled happily. 

“Whoa…that’s…” He didn’t have words for it, but couldn’t help but returning Merlin’s smile.


	49. Chapter 49

Arthur didn’t feel different the next day. They had sat the night and talked. It was so difficult to wrap his mind around the fact that Merlin claimed to be 1500 Earth years old. He looked like in his early thirties. Maybe even younger, but definitely not that ancient. And the fact that he could not die…that was odd. Arthur had grown up with the concept of life being finite. Should Merlin be able to just ignore this concept? And would he be now, too? 

The sun was almost rising again when they finally relocated from the chairs to the bed. Arthur still had questions, but at some point, he just fell asleep. 

When he woke up again, Merlin wasn’t at his side. Maybe he was making breakfast and would bring it to the bedroom? But Merlin didn’t come back, so Arthur scrambled up, took a detour via the bathroom and then went to search. Merlin wasn’t in the living room and he wasn’t in the kitchen, either. 

Then he heard a noise. Stepping out onto the patio on the pool-side, Arthur just stood and admired the view. Not only was the surrounding mountain view stunning, Merlin was in the pool, swimming. He had never known that Merlin could swim and it looked as if he knew what he was doing. 

After a while, Merlin emerged on his side of the pool. 

“Good morning.”

“Hi.”

“Come on in.”

Arthur scrambled out of his sweatpants and held his breath as he slowly walked down the stairs into the pool. He needn’t have worried. The air might have been chilly, but the water was warm. 

Immediately, Merlin came over and kissed him. “Hi…how are you?”

“Still confused…still waiting to feel different…still…amazed….” Arthur answered honestly. 

“I’ll try to answer all your questions as good as I can, I promise.”

Arthur smiled. His plea that Merlin shouldn’t keep things from him anymore obviously worked. “Thank you.”

“I might not have all the answers, though.”

Leaning in, Arthur slid his arms around Merlin’s waist under water. “As long as you try, that’s alright.”

“Until then…” A small grin showed on Merlin’s face as he pulled Arthur closer and rubbed their cocks together. 

Arthur gasped, but then laughed. “Thought you’d never ask.”

Merlin pressed him against the side of the pool and kissed him so thoroughly that Arthur almost got dizzy. He wrapped his legs around Merlin’s waist and the water lapping around his body created a new sensation. That he was so ready for Merlin, so eager to feel him inside was almost scary, but it was as if his body reached out for Merlin and wasn’t content until he felt him close. 

Nibbling on the side of his neck, Merlin took his time, finding all the spots he knew drove Arthur crazy, paying special attention to the triskelion mark that he kissed and licked.

Arthur held onto the edge of the pool as well as he could, arching his back, presenting more of his chest for Merlin to caress. “Merlin…”

Straightening up a bit, Merlin grinned and without much preparation, he entered Arthur, the grin falling off his face, making way for pure bliss. 

Moaning loudly, Arthur tried to pull Merlin closer with his legs around his waist. He always felt so full, so whole when Merlin claimed him and when Merlin started to move and fucked him, he yelled out. It was so different here in the water. He felt weightless but his range of movement was restricted and Merlin didn’t move as fast as he would have liked, but it was fantastic nevertheless. 

Merlin held on to Arthur’s hips and pushed into him over and over again and Arthur couldn’t hold in all the sounds coming from his throat. His dick moved over the water line with each of Merlin’s pushes and the cooler air and the warm water created entirely new sensations. 

It took him a bit longer than usual until the feeling of a nearing orgasm took over, but he loved every second. 

He felt the tiles in his back as Merlin pushed him even closer to the edge of the pool and he tried to clutch Merlin’s shoulders. With his arms finally around Merlin’s neck, he was totally at his mercy, but the friction of his dick between their bellies was exactly what he needed to come. 

Merlin pushed in a few more times and then came, too. 

Arthur tried to catch his breath, leaning his head against Merlin’s shoulder as he tried to relax his legs when he felt Merlin slipping out. 

“Hey…wow…”

“Good morning?” Merlin grinned widely. 

They just stood in the water, arms around each other. “Gosh, I love you.”

Merlin pressed a kiss on Arthur’s shoulder as answer. 

+++

When they caught their breaths again, they swam and played in the water, splashing each other like children, but mostly just kissed and when they decided to get out, Arthur gave Merlin a blowjob on the stairs of the pool. 

Later, they just lounged in the living room, looking out the giant windows to admire the view. 

Merlin snuggled into his arm and Arthur thought he’d never felt so relaxed in ages. 

“The invite to Gwaine’s and Percy’s ceremony came.” 

Arthur nuzzled into Merlin’s hair. “Did you clear our schedules?”

Merlin grinned up at him. “Yup.”

“What are we going to give them? Is there a traditional Ealdorian wedding gift?”

“Hmm…” Merlin shook his head. “We usually give what the couple wished for or needs. And the druids make a garland of good herbs to wrap around the couple’s wrist during the ceremony.”

Arthur turned his head. “We didn’t have that.”

“We didn’t have druids present.”

“True. And I’m not sure they would appreciate it anyway.”

Merlin drew a pattern on Arthur’s chest with his fingertips. “I thought…”

“Hm?”

“How about…we give them this here to stay for their vacation?”

“This here?”

“Yes, the chalet? They could stay a while, enjoy the view, relax…”

A wide smile showed on Arthur’s face. “You mean it? Whose chalet is this anyway? Don’t tell me this is another one of the places they just let you stay in.”

“No, this is…” Merlin lifted his head and chuckled. “Did you really think Ealdor doesn’t have tourism?”

“Oh…so you rented it?”

“Yes.”

“And we could pay for a stay for Gwaine and Percy?”

“Yes. What do you think?”

Arthur leaned in and kissed Merlin. “Great idea. They will love it here.” 

+++

A few days later, they said their good-bye to the chalet with heavy hearts and went back to their place. It was incredible how fast real life grabbed at them again once they had entered, but that was to be expected. There were messages that needed to be looked at and answered, people coming to the house and Arthur went into the city right then next day as Lanora had asked him for a meeting. 

He like those meetings because he learned as much about Ealdorian customs and habits as he could tell Lanora about Earth and Union things. 

“There is a rumour that you will be leaving the planet soon.” She said after they had spoken about a few things. 

“Leaving?” Arthur had no intention to leave. He only just started to feel really at home on Ealdor. 

“Temporarily?”

Blinking, Arthur frowned and slightly shook his head. “Oh…you mean…the wedding?” Or course there had been an official inquiry to be rubber-stamped by the officials of the planet.

“Yes.” Lanora looked at him. “They are friends of yours?”

Arthur nodded. “Yes, they are. They both were crew, but they turned into friends. And they are Merlin’s friends, too.”

Lanora smiled. “You have brought change. It is good to see that the Union can change.”

Making a noncommittal gesture, Arthur smiled. “I am happy for my friends. So if there is nothing from your side that would prevent us from going, we would love to attend their ceremony.”

“If I could give you one little task while you’re up there….?”

Oh no. This was entirely a private thing, he would not be on a diplomatic mission. 

“Would you take a little present and our best wishes to the happy couple?” She smiled. 

Relieved, Arthur chuckled. “Of course, we can do that.”

“Thank you. We’ll have it delivered to your house.”

“As long as it fits into the shuttle…”

“Oh, it’s just a little box of…you would call it ‘wine’? and a card, I’m sure it will fit into the shuttle with you.”

“I’m sure they will be delighted.”


	50. Chapter 50

Arthur tried, but he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He hadn’t been in a shuttle since he arrived on the planet. For days, he had come here and checked everything, like a good pilot would. The shuttle was still fully functional despite it haven’t been used in a standard year. 

Lanora’s present had arrived and was stored away and Merlin had taken care of wrapping their own gift to Gwaine and Percy in a nice packaging. Arthur hadn’t seen it, but he was sure that they would love it. 

Merlin stepped into the shuttle, put down the last of their bags and slid into the co-pilot’s seat. He reached over and squeezed Arthur’s arm. “Take us to the Camelot.”

The ship was in orbit since the day before and there had been a lot of last-minute messaging. Now, Arthur was just nervous. In the most positive way. He hadn’t flown a shuttle in so long and he had never thought he would set foot on the Camelot ever again. 

He nodded at Merlin and engaged the start sequence. 

Even though he enjoyed every second of their flight from surface to the ship, it felt odd, too. Leaving Ealdor. Looking back at the planet, Arthur realized just how much it was his home now. 

“Shuttle requesting landing permission.”

The Camelot was as beautiful as ever as they approached and it didn’t take long before they heard Mordred’s voice over the comm system. “Permission granted. You know the route, Captain.”

Arthur grinned. Obviously, Mordred’s been instructed to grant them permission immediately. He maneuvered the shuttle into the bay and gently set it down. 

“You haven’t forgotten how to do it.” Merlin grinned and jumped up to open the ramp.

Getting up, Arthur tugged at this shirt nervously. He needed to look good, he was – even though here on a private occasion – still a representative of his new planet. The shuttle bay looked as always, nice and clean and tidy and just as he remembered it. He wondered what might have changed on the ship since they left it. 

Merlin stood at the top of the ramp. “Are you coming?”

Taking a deep breath, Arthur nodded and stepped out of the shuttle. 

In a former life, he would have gone straight for the bay doors, already barking orders or inquiring about some kind of status. Now he stood at the bottom of the ramp, waiting to be greeted. 

He didn’t have to wait long. Leon was rushing through the shuttle bay doors, closely followed by Morgana. It was against protocol, but Morgana was just a bit faster than Leon and threw herself at him when she was close. 

“Arty!”

“Morgs!” He hugged her tight. They had messaged a lot in the past weeks, but nothing beat the real thing. After a hug that was probably a lot longer than it should have been in this environment, Morgana let go and hugged Merlin just the same which gave Arthur the chance to do their usual handshake-half-hug-thing with Leon. 

“It’s good to have you back.” Leon beamed.

“Look at you. The captain’s insignia are quite becoming.”

Leon laughed. “Come on, everyone is waiting for you. You can freshen up in your quarters and then come for a welcome drink to Seven Below?”

Merlin beamed. “Is like always. We never gone away.”

Morgana linked arms with both of them. “True. The ship feels complete again, now that you’re back.”

“It’s only temporary, you know that.” Arthur grinned. Even though Ealdor was his home now and he felt really good there, the Camelot had been his home for a lot longer and it felt as if the ship welcomed him again. 

“Let’s make the most of it.”

When they passed Mordred, who had watched the scene while already giving orders to get their luggage and to check the shuttle, he saluted. “Welcome back, Captain.”

Arthur laughed and shook his head. “Leon’s the captain, but thank you, Mordred.”

Leon and Morgana escorted them to their quarters and Arthur swallowed hard when he noticed that it was his old quarters. He had assumed that Leon, as captain of the ship, would move into these rooms, but obviously they had been empty since they left. 

Leon, who noticed the question going through his head, nodded courtly. “They need me on the bridge for a moment. Take your time and then I’ll see you in Seven Below? I hope you feel at home here.”

Morgana flomped down on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. “Everyone is excited to see you again.”

While Arthur looked around and stepped to the window, Merlin acted as if they’d never left. He went to the replicator and got himself a water. “Wants water, too, Arthur?”

“What?” It felt weird standing at the window of the Camelot, where he had stood so many times before, looking down onto Ealdor. The last time he had stood here, he was about to leave a life behind. 

“Water?”

“Oh, yes, please.” He took the bottle that Merlin held out to him, but didn’t drink. 

Morgana just watched the scene. 

Merlin stepped close to him, taking a sip of his own bottle. “Are you alright?” He had switched into Ealdorian again after using Union standard since they had arrived. 

Arthur took a deep breath, smiled and nodded. “Yes.” He put a quick peck on Merlin’s cheek.

“You two are too cute for words.” Morgana got up. “I assume you still know where to find Seven Below?”

“If you haven’t moved it somewhere else?” Arthur grinned. 

“Not since they built the ship. See you there.”

+++

Arthur didn’t have time to dwell on the emotions getting back on the Camelot had brought up. Everywhere they went, the crew members they ran into wanted to greet them and even apologized when they were too busy to say more than ‘hi’. 

Of course, they found Seven Below without any issues, Arthur knew this ship by heart and he smiled at the familiar sounds and smells. Morgana already waited and Arthur was hug-attacked by Mithian and Gwen. 

When they were seated, at their favorite table by the window and a few toasts had been made, Arthur frowned when yet another crew member passed the table, nodding at him, going ‘Captain’. “Why do they keep doing this? I’m not the Captain anymore.”

Mithian shrugged. “They know, but…out of respect?”

“Respect…after all I’ve done and all the trouble I’ve put them through…they are showing me respect?” It sounded too weird. He knew he had selfishly risked all their careers. 

“Of course. The changes you have triggered might seem small,” Morgana shook her head. “They are not. It’s huge. And as huge as it was that you two got married as the first inter species couple, it is almost bigger that two officers on active duty will get married.”

“It wouldn’t have been possible without you.”

Merlin raised his glass. “Me drinks to that.”

They all did.

“Speaking of…where are they?”

Gwen laughed. “Gwaine is probably somewhere telling everyone about his plans for the ceremony while Percy practices not to appear as if he’s shaking in his boots.”

Merlin chuckled. “He so nervous?”

“Oh, yes. He’s constantly afraid that he will forget what to say or drop the ring or something else embarrassing.” Mithian sipped her drink.

“Yes, or starting to cry.”

They all laughed. Percy, security officer of the Camelot, a tower of a man, was known for being unable to hold back the tears when things got emotional. 

Leon joined them, a glass in hand, and squeezed in next to Mithian. 

“Ah, the wedding specialist.” Arthur grinned. 

“Well…I must have done a not too bad job with you guys, so I’m quite popular these days.”

“How many weddings did you do?”

Leon laughed. “This will be my second one.”

“So if job on ship no works out any mores, you travel universe to get people marry.” Merlin suggested happily.

“That’s an option.” Leon clinked glasses with him. “Now tell me about your exciting lives on the surface.”


	51. Chapter 51

It was a wonderful wedding. Everybody tried to be there for the ceremony or at least attend the party later. Of course, Gwaine made some remarks and revealed details that he should have kept private and of course, Percy’s voice broke and he couldn’t keep the tears in as he said his vows. 

Merlin had held Arthur’s hand all the way through, squeezing it once in a while and Arthur couldn’t help but smile goofily. Leon had managed to make it a totally different ceremony than when he had wed them, tailored to the people in front of him. He really had a talent for that. 

To everyone’s amusement, Percy threw Gwaine over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold after they kissed, yelled “MINE!” and started to run down the aisle. He let him down again when he was about in the middle and they kissed again. 

The reception was emotional and both grooms thanked Arthur and Merlin for paving the way for them. The party was spectacular and nobody had expected anything less from Gwaine. Percy ran about, thanking everyone for coming, Gwaine grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him over to where Arthur and Merlin were standing. 

“Captain!”

Arthur chuckled. “Congratulations, you two. You finally did it.”

Gwaine laughed. “After what you’ve done, this was easy. Thank you.”

“Ah.” Arthur made a dismissive gesture. “So, what are you going to do for your honeymoon?”

Percy looked not so delighted for a moment and even Gwaine’s face fell. “We didn’t get much time off.”

Leon stepped up to them. “Well, I need my best pilot and my best security officer.”

Merlin grinned and took a box off the table with the presents. “Maybe you uses this?”

“What’s that?” Percy looked at it as Gwaine immediately reached for it. 

“Just a little something we thought you might like.” Arthur smiled.

They opened the box and took the little display out. 

“That’s…” Percy looked up. “That’s wonderful, but…”

“Wow, that’s cool. We’ll have to check when we’re here next time.” Gwaine looked at the photos of the chalet that came with the voucher.

Leon grinned. “If you want to, you can go tomorrow. We will be in orbit for a while.”

“What?” Percy’s face lit up. “You said we couldn’t have time off because you needed us.”

Merlin laughed. “Leon needses you be here to go there.” He pointed. “Haves to prevent you go somewhere else.”

“It’s a conspiracy!” Gwaine laughed. “Wow…that’s…wow. Thank you so much!” 

They all raised their glasses and toasted the newlyweds. 

There were fun games in which Gwaine and Percy had to prove that they knew all about each other and in which crew members ‘won’ tasks they had to do for them throughout the next year. The music was great and even though Arthur wasn’t the best dancer and tried to avoid it as much as he could, Merlin dragged him to the dance floor and they had fun. 

A bit later in the evening, Merlin dragged him into a corner. 

“What?” Arthur chuckled. 

“Needs kiss you.” Merlin grinned and made good on his words. 

“Merlin,” Arthur first kissed back but then pulled out of the kiss. “Merlin, we’re making a spectacle of ourselves.”

Merlin peeked around. “Nobody notices, all busy with Gwaine and Percy.” He pointed over to where Percy bent Gwaine back and kissed him in a way that should probably not have been public. 

Arthur shrugged. “Alright.” He dove right in. They were in a dark corner, this was private and he didn’t hold a function on this ship anymore, so he probably could let go a little. 

+++

It was early in the morning when they finally made it back to their quarters. They had danced and had a few drinks, talked to many crew members and had fun with their friends. 

Arthur once again stood at the window, looking out. 

Merlin stepped out of the bathroom, came over and wrapped his arms around Arthur’s waist from behind. “You missed this.”

Swallowing hard, Arthur didn’t know what to say. He had found a way to not think about this and he was happy with where he was in his life. But now, standing here, he realized that yes, he missed this. The view, the ship, the sounds and smells around here, the people. He nodded slightly. 

“And you missed your friends.” Merlin murmured against his shoulder.

That was true, too. On Ealdor, he knew people by now, he knew how to communicate with them, but none of them were his friends and he doubted that Merlin’s status would ever make it possible to have real friends. His friends were here, on the Camelot.

Merlin rubbed his cheek against Arthur’s shoulder and didn’t let go for a long time.

When he felt Merlin yawn, Arthur turned. “Alright, enough nostalgia, let’s get some sleep.”

+++

They stayed for another two days in which Morgana showed them the newest equipment in sick bay, talking excitedly about new developments she had a breakthrough with and that was based on the herbs Merlin had brought on board. 

Gwen was more than happy to show them the engine room and proudly presented the latest additions. 

“Requesting permission to enter the bridge.” It felt weird to say it. Of course, security protocol was clear on this. He wasn’t a crew member anymore and therefore his permissions to move around freely on the ship and to go anywhere he wanted had been revoked. They both could go to places like Seven Below or the mess hall, like every other visitor, but the bridge…he needed to ask. 

Leon looked up and smiled. “Granted.” He nodded once. “So, how’s the inspection of the ship going? Is everything in accordance with regulations?” His smile turned into a grin. 

“You’re taking good care of her.” Arthur chuckled. “And it’s not an inspection, it’s just…”

“Finding out if something has changed.” Leon nodded. “Lots of things have changed since you were gone, but you leaving made a lot of people rethink certain processes and especially things ‘we’ve always done like that’.”

“So you’re happy to be rid of me.”

Merlin giggled as Leon frantically shook his head. 

“No! That’s not what I meant, it’s just…”

Arthur laughed. “I know what you mean. A lot of things have turned for the better in my life, too.” He let his eyes wander around the bridge. This nagging feeling that there had to be huge changes while he hadn’t been here didn’t go away. But everything looked just the same, well-maintained and taken care of. 

“Captain!” An unfamiliar voice said and Arthur’s head snapped around. Then he realized that the new crew member had indeed meant Leon and not him. Damn, awkward. Arthur hoped that nobody had noticed, but Merlin squeezed his hand. 

What was wrong with him? He had made the choice to leave this behind, he had built up a new life with Merlin and he did things that meant something. He was happy. Why did it make him feel so weird to be back on the Camelot for a visit?


	52. Chapter 52

“You have to do something about this!” Merlin looked at him with wide, fearful eyes when he accompanied him to the shuttle. 

They had been back from the wedding for a couple of days and both had attended meetings at the negotiations and for druid things. Arthur knew he had to step in. He had hoped that the representatives of the Union would notice that their suggestion was met with pure, badly suppressed horror on the Ealdorian side, but they had droned on and on about the advantages of having a supply station on one of the moons. 

He wasn’t even sure if he hadn’t just shaken his head while he listened. It was true, it did make sense to have one of these stations around Ealdor as it was far away from all other supply points of the Union. Building it on one of the moons would keep the main traffic away from the planet and engineers from the surface could get things without having to wait for the next ship coming in. It was the standard approach after a new ally had agreed to exchange something for…well, something else, in their case technology – to advance what Ealdor already had and make it more compatible with Union technology – for medical supplies. Ealdor had a few tricks up their sleeves that could cure a lot of diseases in the Universe. 

Lanora and her advisors had been too polite to immediately say no. He had listened to her rant for an entire hour after the meeting and then they had talked of how to break it to the Union that they could build a station, but not on any of the moons. So Arthur had asked to privately meet the Union dignitaries on board the Camelot. 

This time, he was wearing the official uniform of Ealdorian emissaries. There couldn’t be a shadow of a doubt which side he was on as he entered the briefing room.

“Arthur!” An admiral of star fleet jumped up to greet him and Arthur was not impressed. They did this on purpose. Of course, this man, a bit younger than his father, had known him his entire life and now would be trying to use this for the Union’s advantage.

“Admiral Margon!” Arthur nodded courtly. “Gentlemen.”

After the initial pleasantries, the admiral and his engineers tried to impress him with digital blueprints of the new station they were planning to erect. 

“Don’t you agree?” They were finally done falling all over themselves trying to convince him that this was the most state of the art station the Union would ever build. 

Arthur said nothing for a while, but with each excited sentence they said, he felt something ripple underneath his skin. “Gentlemen.” He took his time to look everyone in the eye. “You will not build anything on any of the moons.” He declared. 

“But…”

Arthur couldn’t be stopped. “Those moons are sacred to the people of Ealdor.” He made a little pause. “To us.”

He knew that Admiral Margon was in his position because he was a quick thinker, but he also saw the exact moment when the Admiral realized that Arthur was no longer speaking for the Union, but saw himself as a part of Ealdor. 

“Can those religious people be talked with?”

“It’s an entire planet. The moons are connected with them through magic, if they can use it or not. Nobody will agree to the Union building anything on them. They need to stay untouched.” He had always been fascinated with the moons of Ealdor, they had drawn him in, watched over him and comforted him. They had given him a much longer life span, maybe even immortality. Nobody would harm them. Not on his watch. 

“It is the easiest way, though.”

“No. Touch the moons and you will have an entire planet against you. Withdraw this idea. Negotiate building a station out in space, but apologize for ever thinking you could treat the moons of Ealdor as meaningless rocks.” The iciness in his tone surprised Arthur, too. 

“Oh, Prime Minister Lanora knows it’s standard procedure.”

“She does. That’s why she didn’t tell you off right away.”

“And she sent you to do it on her behalf?” A young man, whose function Arthur hadn’t bothered remembering, jumped up. “How are we supposed to negotiate like this?”

Admiral Margon threw him an angry look. “Sit down and let the Counselor speak.”

“I am not telling you off.” Arthur shook his head. “But my unique position allows me to see both sides. I am well familiar with the ways the Union works and I have first-hand experience of what it is like to live on this planet. I have seen many planets on my travels and talked to many creatures in this universe who had sometimes very different views. Ealdor never had any official outside contacts, so this is the Union’s chance to do something good. Learn from each other. Things that are standard procedure for you are very alien for anyone on Ealdor and vice versa. These negotiations should work with those differences, not against them.” He looked around the table and met everyone’s eyes. 

“This is your chance to explore something new and exciting and that’s the only reason any of us ever joined Union Star Fleet.” Nobody could object. 

“The moons of Ealdor are sacred,” he repeated. “If you respect them the way they should be respected, you will not only gain the trust of the people of Ealdor. You will gain the respect of all magic users in the entire universe.” 

Arthur got up. He had said what had to be said. The Union couldn’t say he hadn’t warned them. If they stayed stubborn and mentioned their moon-base in any other context than a formal apology, the negotiations with Ealdor would fail. And it would take a long time for them to be able to re-negotiate. 

He would not wait for an answer. He knew, he couldn’t. That tingly feeling underneath his skin that had gotten him so passionate while speaking, was still there and urged him to get back to the planet. Nodding, he walked briskly to the door and made his way to the shuttle bay. 

+++

“Congratulations.” Morgana beamed at him from the screen. 

“On what? I didn’t forget my birthday, did I?” Arthur grinned. He hadn’t known how good it would feel to come back to the planet and a message from Lanora waiting for him to thank him for what he had done and to tell him that the Union had extended an official apology. 

“You know exactly what I mean. That was a quite impressive speech.” 

“I just said what needed to be said. It keeps the Union from trampling around and Ealdor from having to say no.” He shrugged. 

“No, really, I’m proud of you, Arty.” She smiled. “You looked a bit scary, too, almost like you had a glowing aura around you.”

“What?”

“Don’t tell anyone, but I saw the security footage of the meeting.”

Arthur groaned. “Percy’s going to have a cow when he finds out.”

“Most likely.” She grinned but then turned serious again. “But I mean it. You found the right words. Before this unofficial meeting, everyone thought they could convince you to convince Ealdor. Even though you know both worlds, you made it clear whose side you are on and that you can offer insight to both parties.”

“What do you mean?”

Morgana winked. “I’ve heard a rumour that they will make a proposal to you.”

“A proposal?” Arthur blinked. 

Before Morgana could answer, Merlin came into the room. “Hi, Healer Morgana!” He waved at the screen, put a mug of clogamora in front of Arthur and pressed a kiss on his temple as he perched on the arm of the chair. 

“Hey, Merlin, how are you?”

“Goods now! The moons are happy…save.” Merlin beamed happily. 

“They are and that’s a very good thing.” 

“Morgs, what kind of proposal?” Arthur tried again. 

‘Healer Pendragon, your presence is requested in sick bay’ came over the comm system of the Camelot and Morgan shrugged. “I’m needed. Talk to you later.”

With that, she closed the transmission. 

“They call her ‘Healer Pendragon’!” Merlin chuckled. “I invented that!”

“You did.” Arthur agreed absentmindedly. What kind of proposal might Morgana have talked about?


	53. Chapter 53

After a good work-out with Master Kyworah, Arthur walked in, a towel around his neck. 

“Alator!”

The druid, who was standing at the large glass doors to the patio, turned. “Pendragon!”

“Arthur,” Arthur corrected automatically. He would never understand how Merlin took being called ‘Emrys’ like that, but then, Merlin had grown up with it. Pendragon was just his last name, no matter what everyone else told him. 

“Arthur,” Alator smiled.

“What brings you here?” Wiping the sweat off his temple with the corner of his towel, Arthur came closer. “Hot or cold?” He offered drinks. “Merlin’s not here.”

“Thank you for your generous offer, but I won’t be staying too long. I am just here to extend an invitation for the moon fest.”

“The moon fest?” Arthur blinked. Was that another one of those ceremonies or rituals that Merlin hadn’t told him about? Or…that he probably had told him about but he had forgotten?

“Yes,” the man smiled. “In honour of the moons…and to celebrate that you saved them, we will be having a feast and we would like you and Emrys to attend…as our guests of honour.”

Arthur felt a headache nearing just remembering that last feast and the hangover that came with it. “I will talk to Merlin.”

That was all Alator needed. He bowed deeply and left. 

Arthur looked after him. Would he ever understand the druids and their ways? Alator seemed like one of the most approachable and that was probably why they had sent him. He seemed like a guy you could have a beer in a pub with. Oh, wait, no…alcohol and druids and him didn’t mix. He would be more careful this time. But celebrating the moons sounded like a good idea. 

+++

“Are you enjoying the party?” Arthur stepped up to where Hunith was standing and handed her one of the alcohol-free drinks he had stuck to the entire evening. 

Hunith smiled at him. “It’s a wonderful celebration. Thank you, Arthur.”

“It’s all the druid’s doing, I was just asked to come and here I am.” He grinned and sipped his own drink. 

“No, I mean…for everything. You single-handedly solved this issue.” She looked up into the sky. “They are grateful.”

Arthur looked at the moons, too. “It was the least I could do after all they have done for me.” A year ago, he would have considered this irrational mumbo jumbo. He had seen and experienced so much that he never thought was even possible in the past year and he was feeling connections he would have laughed at just a few months ago, that he just couldn’t ignore it. He had changed. And it all had started with the moons telling Merlin to set out into space to look for him. 

She linked her arm with his. “And thank you for inviting me to this feast.”

He leaned over a bit and whispered. “I think the druids are a bit scared of the things you can do even if you don’t have magic.” He winked at her and grinned. 

Hunith chuckled. “They are impressed, yes, that was very clear in the speeches they held at the beginning of the evening. But you need to stop saying that you don’t have magic. We all have. Not everyone can use it, but it’s always there, in us. Do you really think I could have given birth to the most powerful sorcerer of them all if magic hadn’t been there from the beginning?”

“I still have a lot to learn.” Arthur had seen so many things, but he still couldn’t wrap his head around this concept entirely. Maybe it was true for Ealdorians. He hadn’t been born here, though, and he’d grown up in space. His entire life, technology had been his magic. He needed to talk to Merlin about that. There was probably a way of making him believe, too?

“You will understand when you have children of your own.” Hunith smiled softly. 

Arthur almost swallowed the wrong way and coughed a little. “What? Hunith…Merlin and I are…men? It just doesn’t work like that for us?” He blushed a little. Did he really have to explain that part of their anatomy to Merlin’s mother?

She chuckled. “It’s not unheard of that magic people can bear children. And with Merlin’s powers…” Her eyes searched him in the crowd and she smiled proudly when she found him talking and laughing with some of the younger druids. 

Arthur felt dizzy for a moment. “You’re saying…” He had never envisioned himself as a father. He had always been attracted to males and even with the wonders of modern science, it wasn’t possible for him to have offspring with another man. He never had a good role model either. If at all, he would have to base being a parent on all the things his father had done wrong and try to do the exact opposite, which definitely wouldn’t be a good start. And…what? Merlin could ask magic to give them a child?

Hunith patted his arm. “Oh, don’t listen to an old woman. Your journey is not over yet, if at all, this is far in the future. If it is what you and Merlin want, then. And even then, it’s not certain. But it happened before.”

+++

Arthur frowned when he turned yet another page in this ancient book. It was one thing to speak and read Ealdorian. To try to understand a version of it that was spoken hundreds, maybe thousands of years ago was totally another. 

“What are you looking for, my boy?”

Looking up at Gaius, Arthur smiled. In the beginning, he had been quite intimidated by the old man who did nothing else but scold him and correct him. Now, he was a trusted advisor and something like a friend. Some days, Arthur wondered how old Gaius really was as he was ancient even by Ealdor standards, but he had never dared to ask. 

“I’m trying to make sense of this.”

Gaius looked over his shoulder and then chuckled. He shuffled to the chair across from Arthur. “So you are interested in how magic males or their partners can bear children.”

Arthur blushed a little. “It’s just something that came up in a conversation at the fest and I thought I’d do some research.” He sighed. “There are so many things here that I have never heard of or thought about…”

Sipping his clogamora, Gaius smiled. “Of all the things you still have to learn, you are picking this. Interesting.”

“No, it’s just like…I don’t…I just never heard about it. I have been to many worlds, but none even gave a hint that this is possible. So…”

Gaius chuckled. “It’s alright, my boy. All of a sudden, you might have the chance of being a father…or a mother,” He chuckled harder at the shocked look on Arthur’s face. “It’s only natural that you want to know how it can come about.”

“So…how can it?”

Of course, Gaius didn’t go into details and Arthur would have been dying of embarrassment if he did, but after a longish explanation Arthur understood that it needed a lot of magic and everyone actively agreeing and certain stellar constellations and…other things he had no idea what they meant and then, if they were lucky, there was a slight chance. 

Not enough for Arthur to worry about now. It was just good to know.

+++

He didn’t even have time to worry about it in the next days, as a message from Union Star Fleet came in. 

Arthur blinked when he saw Senator Mockin, who said he spoke on behalf of the President. He had dealt with high-ranking officials his entire life, but what on Earth…Ealdor? could the President want from him?

“Merlin?” He called out to Merlin who was rummaging around in the kitchen. “Did you see this?”

Merlin came over, munching on a sandwich that he held out for Arthur to take a bite. “See what?” He said around bread and eggs and salad.

Arthur shook his head at the sandwich. “This message from Senator Mockin.”

“Who’s that?” Merlin perched on the arm of Arthur’s chair. “I saw there was a message for you, I didn’t open it.”

Arthur replayed the message. First, there was lots of congratulations crap about helping the Union with the faux pas about the moons. They didn’t call it that, but that’s what it was. And then, the Senator asked him to also work for them. Not only counsel the Ealdorians on the way the Union worked, but also counsel them on anything Ealdorian. 

“We are open to talks.”

“Is that the proposal Healer Morgana talked about?” Merlin took another bite off his sandwich and seemed to be totally unmoved. 

“I believe so.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Chewing away, a little bit of mayonnaise at the corner of his mouth that he caught with a finger that he licked, Merlin acted as if this was the most normal thing to happen ever. 

“Merlin…” Arthur reached for his wrist and kept him from biting into the sandwich again. “Do you understand how huge this is?”

Nodding, Merlin smiled. “Yes. You would be even more important in these negotiations and probably have to go places a lot more.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?” Either Merlin had thought this through already – and if he did, where did he get the information from? – or he didn’t understand what it was all about.

Merlin finally put the rest of his sandwich down, wiped his mouth at the sleeve of his sweater and leaned in to press a kiss on Arthur’s lips. When he pulled back, he smiled. “You won’t be going without me, I know that.”

“I…”

“You should talk to Lanora. After you made up your mind.” Merlin’s smile showed that he was fairly certain that Arthur had made up his mind already.


	54. Chapter 54

Arthur was crazily busy. After talking with Lanora and her staff, he had accepted the counseling position for the Union as well. Sometimes it was difficult as he had to stay neutral, but it was a good feeling to be able to help both sides avoid offending each other without even knowing. 

He hadn’t even noticed that summer had turned to fall and fall had turned into winter as he was working long hours and most of the time, he had to go through papers even after he was back from the city. And when the snowfall set in, he decided it was easier to stay in the city as government provided a hotel suite for him anyway. 

“Hey.” He smiled tiredly at the screen. 

“Hi.” Merlin looked tired, too.

“What’s going on? Any druid celebration or rituals that you had to attend lately?” In the beginning, Arthur always knew what Merlin was up to, where he was going and what he had done throughout the day as they had talked via transmission each night. More and more, they had skipped it as both of them were busy and some nights, Arthur didn’t even touch the meal they brought up to his room and just slumped onto the bed where he woke up in the morning, still in the clothes he wore the day before. 

“The winter celebrations are coming up.” Merlin shrugged as if that explained everything. 

“I’ve seen decorations going up here in the hotel.” Arthur smiled. 

Merlin didn’t say anything for a while. “Will you be back for the main day?”

“When is that again?”

“I’ll put it on your calendar.”

“I’ll see what I can do. I don’t think the negotiations will commence on that day as it is important for Ealdor.”

“It is.”

They just looked at each other in silence. 

“Go to bed, Arthur, you’re tired.”

“You, too.” Arthur sent Merlin a wry smile. “Love you.”

Merlin nodded and ended the transmission. 

+++

Lots of their nightly conversations were like this, especially when they hadn’t talked to each other in a few days because it had gotten late again and again and he didn’t want to disturb Merlin in the middle of the night. 

Negotiations were going great. The Union had started to build a space station, far enough to not disturb the fragile balance of magic and the moons, but close enough that it could be seen from the surface, shining like another star at night. Arthur couldn’t wait for it being completed, so he could go up and look around. It wasn’t one of those stations that ships could dock to, there would only be shuttle traffic, but it was enough to tighten the relationship between Ealdor and the Union. 

Arthur sat in his room, not even noticing how heavy the snow came down as he was going through the day’s transcripts to make sure he caught everything, when there was something at his window. He startled. 

“Aithusa!” Quickly opening and letting her in – together with lots of icy wind and more snow than was appropriate – he watched as the little dragon shook and then huddle next to the heating. “What brings you here in this weather?”

She looked at him and made a sound. 

“Sweetie, you know I don’t speak ‘dragon’. Did you just come for a visit?” 

She came closer and rubbed her head against his leg. 

“I’ve missed you, too.” Smiling, Arthur hunched down and stroked her head. “Did you grow?”

Aithusa came very close and pressed her forehead against his. 

Arthur didn’t have time to wonder what this was all about as his head was flooded with images. For a fleeting moment, Arthur was surprised that Aithusa could do this – she never had before – but then he understood that she wanted him to go to the big parking lot area behind the hotel. 

“In this weather?” He already looked around for the thickest clothes he had along. Usually, he didn’t need it, he was just at the hotel or on the way to the negotiations, where it was warm enough, too. 

Bundled up the best he managed, he let Aithusa out through the window again and then made his way down to the lobby and out of the hotel.

“Sir!” The receptionist called. “You might not want to go outside in this storm. This is the worst snow storm we’ve had in ages.”

Arthur nodded. He did not want to, he had to. “I’ll be back soon.” 

Fuck, this was cold. The wind was biting right through his clothes and it whipped the snowflakes across the place and into Arthur’s face so he could barely see where he was going. The hotel staff had given up on clearing any pathways, so he fought his way though knee-high snow until he at least thought he was where Aithusa had sent him. Where was she? 

“Aithusa?” He called out, but the wind ripped the word right from his lips. “Come on, dragon, if you dragged me out here to play, we will have to have a word.” He huddled under the low-hanging roof of a little service building. “Show yourself.”

Even through the howling wind, he could hear the swooshing of wings, but they were much larger than Aithusa’s. Through the curtain of snowfall, Kilgarrah’s head appeared before him. 

“Pendragon.”

“Kilgarrah! What is this about? Did something happen? Is something wrong with Merlin?”

When the large dragon didn’t say anything for a moment, a cold fist clenched around Arthur’s heart. “Merlin? What’s wrong with him?” They hadn’t spoken that day. Or the previous two. But someone sure would have called him if Merlin had an accident or something?

“Emrys is suffering.”

“What? Where? How do I get there? What happened?” Arthur was close to panicking. 

“You can not leave your bonded alone for that long. Your work can never be more important than him.” The dragon said. 

“But…we are talking…”

“That’s not enough. You have not been at the house in weeks.”

“It’s winter.” He was painfully aware of that and also of how weak this sounded. 

“He fears you won’t be around for the winter celebration.”

“He knows how important the negotiations are.” His defense sounded meager in his own ears. Kilgarrah was right, he had buried himself in his new function and tasks and hadn’t given Merlin the attention he deserved. When the dragon just looked at him with a reproachful expression on his scaly face, Arthur’s shoulders slumped. “I’ve been neglecting him.”

“It is not too late.”

“I’ll…can you take me back?” 

“Arthur, I’m not a horse.” 

True, right, sorry, it had just been a weird thought. “Sorry…I’ll…” Arthur gestured towards the hotel. “I’ll just figure it out.” He already stumped towards the building again when he turned and yelled “Thank you!”

“And don’t forget the winter celebrations.”

+++

Despite the receptionist’s warnings, Arthur was sat in the vehicle a while later. He had gotten most everything in the souvenir shop on his way out and now carefully made his way back to the house, hoping that the auto-pilot would find its way. All he saw was big snowflakes coming at the windshield and he almost felt the same dizziness that he got when he looked at the screen for too long when the Camelot was in hyper speed. 

“Merlin?” He tried to reach out, but somehow he couldn’t get a connection. 

After what felt like hours, he finally made it back, climbed out, grabbed the bags and the bunch of flowers that had taken offense to the cold and made his way to the house. It was in the middle of the night and Merlin was probably already asleep, but when he entered, the screen was still on, showing some old movie.

“Merlin?”

He found him, curled up on the couch, a thick blanket draped over him.

“Arthur?” Merlin looked at him with blood-shot eyes. The dark circles underneath his eyes were well visible, even in the dim light. It sounded as if Merlin thought he was just a hallucination.  
Arthur had shed his thick coat and boots at the door and fell to his knees in front of the couch. He reached out and Merlin was in his arms in no time and he just held on. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered. 

The ripple underneath his skin was probably just from being out in the cold for too long, but as he held Merlin, he felt rejuvenated, as if his batteries were recharging and it looked as if it was the same for Merlin. 

“I missed you so bad.” Merlin finally spoke after endless minutes. 

“I’m…I fucked up. I’m an arse.”

Merlin nuzzled into his neck. “You’re back, that’s all that counts.”

The rational part of his brain knew that it wasn’t only his fault for throwing himself into work like that. Merlin hadn’t said anything and just suffered in silence. 

“Don’t do that again.” He tried to get even closer. “Talk to me. Call me out when I am stupid like that.”

“You were so busy. And I am so proud of you for doing something that important for Ealdor. I thought I could go on a bit longer without you.” Merlin murmured and then he pulled back a bit to look at Arthur’s face. “You lost weight…you haven’t been eating…”

Arthur almost chuckled. “You haven't either.” It was a lot more visible in Merlin and Arthur felt guilty. 

They just sat and held each other for the rest of the night.

As it got lighter, the snowstorm had stopped and the sun was coming out for the first time in days.


	55. Chapter 55

“Show me the decorations and tell me all about the winter celebrations.” Arthur slurped another spoonful of an Ealdorian version of muesli and smiled at Merlin over the breakfast table. They had not done this in months and Arthur only noticed now how much he had missed this. 

Merlin, who looked still quite pale, looked up. “Don’t you have to go back to the city?”

Arthur shook his head. “I sent Lanora a message that I will be working from home for a while and only be there for the important meetings or attend via transmission.”

“What did she say?” Merlin poked at the scrambled egg he had on his plate.

“She understands. And sends her regards.” Arthur reached across the table to squeeze Merlin’s hand. 

Merlin sighed and then smiled wryly. “Do you really want to know all about the winter celebrations?”

“Of course. And there’s one more thing I need to take care of.”

Merlin’s face fell again. 

“Can we do something…I mean…like….you know that the dragons helped us out last night, right?”

Nodding, Merlin just looked at him.

“I would like to make sure that every dragon has what they need to make it through winter.” 

A slow smile spread across Merlin’s face. “All of them?”

“If possible. I am aware that this probably doesn’t mean a warm blanket and a pair of boots. You are the dragon lord, you could tell me?”

Merlin laughed. “A lot of them hibernate in winter. Some just go through a period where they only wake up once in a while. Most of them need the sun and warmth, especially when it’s as cold as it is now.”

“And all of them need food?”

“Not all of them. But some do, yes.”

“Could you...talk to Kilgharrah? He seems to be out and about in this weather and is something like the dragon king? He should know who needs what exactly?”

A gentle smile showed on Merlin’s face. 

“What?”

“I love you.”

Arthur chuckled as he reached over again. “Love you, too.”

They finished breakfast and Merlin showed Arthur the winter celebration decorations which weren’t too far from what he knew for Christmas deco on Earth. They probably weren’t as colourful and they definitely weren’t as tacky, there were a lot of things taken from nature and Arthur actually had fun putting some of them up with Merlin, listening to his stories about winter celebrations when he was little. 

“What are we going to have for dinner?”

Merlin, who was levitating a garland around one of the windows, looked at him. “We just had breakfast.”

“No, I mean for the celebration?”

Merlin looked at him. “I don’t know. We didn’t have much when I was little, but mam always at least had a pie or something. And then…”

“Then?”

“Then I grew up and I was needed in the rituals.”

Arthur blinked. He didn’t really remember cozy Christmases as father was always busy, but there was at least a big dinner the night before they opened overly expensive and not very well-thought-through presents. “So you’re saying…you never had a Christmas dinner?”

“Is that what you call it on Earth?”

Shrugging, Arthur handed Merlin the next garland. “Let’s say it’s a celebration in the middle of winter. Slightly different background now, but yes. You gather family and have a good meal and then sit by the tree and exchange presents.”

Merlin blinked. “Sit by the tree…why would anyone sit by a tree in the middle of winter?”

For a moment, Arthur saw the incredulous look on Merlin’s face and laughed. “Not outside! We take one in, decorate it, make it look festive.”

It seemed to be clear that Merlin though he – and everyone else on Earth – was clearly insane. 

“When we’re done, we can research images in the data bank.”

+++

They forgot all about the Christmas trees when Merlin called Kilgarrah to thank him for what he had done and Arthur offered help where it was needed. The big dragon seemed pleased that they both were better and promised to be back with more information. 

Merlin thanked him for coming and went back to the house. 

“I’ll…I need to talk to Kilgarrah for a moment.” Arthur smiled at Merlin. “Just go inside, you’re freezing.”

“So, where are we going?” Merlin asked for the umpteenth time. 

“Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” Arthur grinned over as he piloted the vehicle, which was a lot easier now than the night before in the snowstorm. 

Sticking his tongue out at him, Merlin crossed his arms in front of his chest after pulling his beanie a bit further into his eyes. “It’s way too cold to go anywhere,” he muttered under his breath. 

Arthur hoped that everything was prepared the way he had intended and finally parked where Merlin had left the vehicle the last time they’d been here. “Come.” He took a basket container out of the boot and waved for Merlin to follow him. 

“What…Arthur, what are we doing here? I know this is our place, but it’s cold, we’ll freeze to death.”

“I’ll keep you warm.” Arthur knew the way to the clearing and when he broke through the underbrush, he smiled. Killgarah had found helpers to set this up. It was almost invisible, just the fine shimmer of magic revealed the dome. “After you.” He made a gesture with his arm. 

Merlin stared. “Is this what I think it is?”

The only thing that gave it away was that there was no snow on the ground.”

“If you think a heat charm or spell or whatever in a bubble so we can have a picknick, you’re thinking right.” Arthur grinned. 

“But Arthur…” Merlin stepped closer and touched his fingertips to the barrier. It opened for them only to close again immediately after they stepped in. 

Setting the basket down, Arthur put a blanket on the ground and took off his jacket. It seemed surreal but the temperature inside the bubble was just right to sit and talk, even though the snow sparkled on the ground outside. “Merlin,” he stepped close. “You always take me place, you show me stuff on this planet, beautiful things…let me do this for you. I messed up and I’m so sorry.”

“We’ve talked, Arthur. It was as much my fault as it was yours, let’s…” Merlin shrugged. “Just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“So…are we staying or do you want to go back to the house?”

Merlin looked around and a slow smile showed on his face. “You know I love this spot. And the moons will be visible soon.” He pulled the beanie off his head. “What did you pack?”

It had been Julan who packed the basket, and Merlin knew that because it had everything he liked. They ate and then just sat together, watching the moons rise.

Arthur wrapped his arms around Merlin and pulled him close. “Can I kiss you?”

Merlin huffed out a chuckle. “Never ask.”


	56. Chapter 56

Arthur bent his neck from side to side and enjoyed when it finally made a sound and felt like it was in the correct position again. Immediately he felt the slight headache that he had fighting the entire day ease. It had been a long, hard day of getting details in the contract right and he was happy that he could finally call Merlin as soon as he was back at his room. 

Lately, they had been communicating their schedules a lot better, he had worked from home a lot and had even made time to attend some druid meetings, so he was aware that his presence was required in the winter celebration rituals and he knew what to expect. As much as he could know; magic still managed to surprise him again and again. 

Knowing that Merlin had a day or two with no appointments ahead, Arthur planned to ask him to come to the city, so they could go look at the decorations and lights and just have a nice evening out. 

Opening the door to his hotel room, Arthur immediately felt that something was off. There was the familiar tingling underneath his skin that had set in when he was training with Master Kyworah and warned him that a magic attack was imminent. Carefully, he crept into the room. 

The screen was showing some kind of film with the volume set very low. 

He rarely had time to watch anything at all and if he did, he sure didn’t forget to switch it off when he left the room and cleaning staff was so precise that they wouldn’t leave it on either. 

As quietly as he could, he closed the door behind him. Was this the moment he had been training for all these months? Was this the attack of those who still didn’t want him to be with Merlin? Or someone else entirely, who just happened to have magic?

There were things lying around that he definitely hadn’t left there. Had someone searched his room? What for? He never left data at the room, there was nothing to be found concerning the negotiations while he wasn’t in here. 

He almost tripped. Over a boot. 

And there was a thick coat over the back of a chair. 

The other boot was over there.

Arthur relaxed and chuckled in relief. “Merlin?” He whispered into the half-dark. 

Setting his things down at the little work station, he shed his own coat and kicked off his boots as well before he turned towards the bed where Merlin lay, on the covers, clutching the remote control in one hand while he was fast asleep. 

His heart swelled. Merlin, once again, had had the same idea and came to the city to spend time with him. And he had blown it by attending a meeting that had taken longer than he thought it would. If he had made it back right after, not stopping to chat with some of the attendees, he might have caught Merlin awake and they could at least have dinner together. 

But…Merlin was here and that was all that counted. It was too late to wake him up to at least say hello and it wouldn’t have been fair either. So he tip-toed to the bathroom, shed his clothes, brushed his teeth and when he came back, he tried to get Merlin under the cover as well as possible without waking him up. Then he slid in from the other side and wrapped his arms around him. 

Merlin mumbled and grumbled, like he always did when he tried to get comfortable, turned and buried his face in his neck. 

“Love you,” Arthur whispered when he wrangled the remote out of Merlin’s hand and switched off the movie that nobody was watching. 

“Mmm mm.” Was all the answer he got and the only reply he needed when he also switched off the lights. 

+++

They had met Lanora in the breakfast room and she had been delighted that Merlin was in the city, so they invited her to have breakfast with them. It had taken longer than they expected and after checking a few data sheets he had gotten over night, they finally made their way out of the hotel and into town. 

Even though Merlin was bundled up with a thick scarf and the beanie he had been wearing the other night, people recognized him and bowed as they walked along. Some extended greetings for the winter celebrations and some also noticed Arthur and smiled at him.

“You’re popular.” Merlin smiled and reached for his hand. 

“Not as popular as you.”

“That’s different. You’re doing a great job.”

Arthur enjoyed Merlin’s hand in his. “I hope I’m doing the right thing for the people of Ealdor.”

“I am sure you are.”

“What do you want to do first?”

“Market?” Merlin grinned. 

Laughing, Arthur nodded. Merlin obviously loved going to markets, so he just followed. To his surprise, there were special markets set up which reminded Arthur of the ancient images he had seen from Christmas markets on Earth. There was special food and drinks, it smelled cozy, there were lots of trinkets to be bought and soft music was playing over the speaker system. There were rides for children and lots of odd things that didn’t make much sense to Arthur, but he just went where Merlin wanted to look at things.

“So…what do you want for Christm…winter celebrations?”

Merlin looked at him, a bit confused. “What do you mean?”

“Where I come from…we give our loved ones presents for that feast in winter.”

“Why?”

“Because we love them?”

Merlin shook his head. “No, I mean…why do you have to wait for the feast to give them something?”

Now Arthur blinked. It was a very valid question. One that he had never considered. “We don’t have to. It’s just…tradition.”

“It’s tradition that you have to give them a gift?”

Laughing, Arthur pulled Merlin close. “No. We don’t have to wait and we don’t have to give them a gift. We want to give them something and the wait just builds up the anticipation.”

Merlin pondered that for a moment. “So if I got something for you today…you would be happier about it if I waited to give it until the celebrations?”

“What? No. But…” Arthur shrugged. “It’s a tradition. A nice one, I think. It tells the people you like that you thought about them.”

Stepping even closer, Merlin smiled. “I know you think of me every day. I don’t need a present.”

“Stop saying such sappy things.” Arthur mock-frowned. 

“But…we could…get our friends on the Camelot something?” 

Arthur nodded. “Great idea.”

They spent the rest of the day trying to find the right little gift for each of their friends before Merlin picked out a restaurant where they had dinner. 

“You know we’ll have to record little messages for each of them.”

“Is that a tradition, too?”

“Oh, come on, you wouldn’t just want to find a something not knowing where it came from and who gave it to you, would you?”

Merlin grinned. “True. We can do that at home.”

The negotiations would resume after the weekend and only last for another three days before the hiatus over winter celebrations. There was a dinner that Arthur had to attend and where he put Merlin as his plus one, but then he was free to attend the druid side of this time of year. They had the weekend to themselves and Arthur didn’t intend on wasting a single minute on Christmas cards and gift-wrapping. 

After dinner, they walked through the city and looked at the decorations and the lights that people had put up until it got too cold to be outside anymore. 

+++


	57. Chapter 57

The winter celebration dinner had gone well and it was nice that Merlin was at his side all evening long, but it was even better to finally be back home, knowing that he wouldn’t have to deal with negotiations and counseling one of the sides for a few weeks. Which didn’t mean that they could just lean back and put up their feet. Preparations for the druid rituals were in full swing. 

“And you know what to say?” Merlin asked for the umpteenth time. 

“Merlin, calm down. We rehearsed this and if I can’t follow the entire ritual, Alator will give me a sign when it’s my turn.”

Merlin came over and adjusted the collar of the shirt underneath Arthur’s cloak. “You look so good.”

“So do you. This blue really suits you.” He plucked a bit at Merlin’s ceremonial cloak. 

Shrugging, Merlin leaned against him for a moment. “One day, it might be white.”

“Huh?”

“This is the celebration where we ask the light to come back to our world.” He pulled back and sighed. 

“And your clothes will be turning white because you are the light for the magic world?” Only a few months ago, Arthur would never even have had such a thought. Now, it came naturally.

“Something like that. It hasn’t happened in ages, so I’m not putting my hopes up high.” Merlin stretched. “Let’s go.”

+++

Arthur sat next to the bed and wished he could do more than to wait for Merlin to come to again. He had been warned that this could happen – or more likely would happen – but he wasn’t happy. 

The ceremony had started out nicely with singing and prayers and Merlin calling out to the earth and moons, to magic and whatnot and Arthur had been right there to say the words he was taught. He had felt the tingling underneath his skin that meant that magic was near and all his sensed had been alert. 

When Merlin started to glow, it was different from the time he had spoken to the moons back when they were at the chalet. It was even more powerful and as if magic was trying to tell them something. It went on for much longer and at one point, Arthur got concerned. Merlin had assured him that he didn’t get harmed during the ritual, but it still looked as if this whole thing took its toll on him. 

Arthur exchanged looks with Alator, who shook his head slightly. He was not to interfere which got more difficult the longer this was going on. 

After what seemed like eternities, a light came up on the horizon and somehow connected with Merlin, who then yelled out one word and slumped down. 

The ritual was over. 

Arthur rushed to Merlin’s side right away and pushed one of the druids out of the way, who wanted to help Emrys up. It was him to do this, he was Merlin’s husband and he needed to take care of him. Merlin was barely conscious when he hauled him up and made his way through the throng of druids. 

“We need to…”

“Pendragon, Emrys has to…”

“But the…”

Arthur stopped and turned, Merlin’s weight still in his arm. “WE do not need to do anything at all. Emrys has to rest.”

“But Pendragon, this was only part of the ceremony, he needs to be here for the rest, too.”

Other druids objected as well. 

“As far as he told me, the rest is a feast. If you want him to eat all those things, bring them to the house.” The tingling underneath his skin turned into a ripple. “I will take Emrys there, so he can rest.” Arthur looked from one to the other to make it clear that there was no other option and he wouldn’t allow any of them to keep Merlin here. 

To his utter surprise, one by one backed up and then bowed to them. Then again, he didn’t care. Merlin needed to lie down and get rehydrated and he would be the one to do this. 

As he dragged Merlin away, he didn’t even notice that he had a white glow around him as magic, or whatever it was, still raged through him. 

“Here, Merlin, drink.” He said gently when Merlin slowly stirred.

“Where…what…?” Merlin looked around and then let Arthur help him take a sip of the clogamora.

“It has honey in it, you like honey, don’t you?”

Merlin looked so utterly tired that it tore at his heart. What did those rituals do to him that he was so exhausted? And who had made sure that the druids didn’t keep him too long in rituals before this one? 

Nodding very slowly, Merlin turned to the side and with Arthur’s help, he pulled the blanket a bit further up his shoulder. 

“Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?”

Merlin nodded again and then whispered. “You.”

Arthur had shed his ceremonial clothes a while ago and was in only some sweatpants and a t-shirt as he had been going back and forth from the bedroom to the bathroom to refresh the cloths he put on Merlin’s forehead and two trips to the kitchen to get him the tea. Without saying a word, he climbed in with Merlin and wrapped his arms around him. 

He wanted to tell him so much. How he was fascinated by the way he had looked during the ritual and how much he wanted to slap the druids who wanted to keep him there even though he clearly needed rest. And he wanted to scold Merlin a little bit for not setting boundaries and for letting the druids push him around like that. He probably didn’t even see it as it has ‘always’ been like that and Merlin regarded it as normal. It had to stop. They needed to leave him alone when he was exhausted and if Merlin didn’t fight for himself, Arthur would do it for him. 

Merlin had snuggled back into him and was fast asleep, so the talk had to wait. 

+++

“You’re looking good, little brother.” Morgana smiled. 

“So do you. Everything going fine on the ship?” Arthur still couldn’t not ask for the Camelot. She wasn’t his ship anymore but he still felt the need to make sure she was okay. 

“You know how it is around Christmas, some people get antsy, some want to go on as usual and some just want to relax. Nothing out of the ordinary.” 

They had been chatting for a while as Morgana had started the transmission to thank them for the little presents they had sent up with a shuttle. Everybody seemed to like what they had found for them and according to Morgana, they should be expecting lots of thank you messages. 

Merlin came in and perched at the arm of Arthur’s chair. 

“Hi Merlin!”

“Healer Morgana!” Merlin beamed. 

“I just said thank you for my gift. You shouldn’t have!” 

Merlin had insisted on sending her more herbs and leafs, some of his salves and concoctions on top of the little charm they had found on one of the markets in the city that was meant to protect her and enforce her abilities as a healer. 

“You likes the things?”

“I love them, thank you.”

Soon, Merlin and Morgana were engrossed in a vivid conversation and Arthur kind of zoned out. This healing business wasn’t his, he only understood about every third word. 

“So he did it again?” 

“Yes. Alator sayed that Arthur did a glowing.” Merlin beamed proudly.

“You know he did that when he saved the moons of Ealdor, don’t you?”

Merlin stared at the screen and then looked over to him. “No…it happensed before?”

Morgana nodded. “I saw the footage. He got all fierce and looked almost scary and there was like…a fine…silvery aura? Like…just around him…it’s difficult to describe.”

Arthur frowned. She had said that before, but he hadn’t paid it any attention. It was probably just an error in the video. 

“Like…whites light? Like….sparkelinging?” Merlin asked excitedly. 

“Yes, something like that. And you say, he did it again?”

“Yes.” Merlin nodded his head enthusiastically. “When taked me out of celebration, at end of rituals…when I was sleepy…tireded.”

Arthur just looked. He didn’t know what to say. Other than the ripple underneath his skin, he hadn’t noticed that anything was different. And he would have noticed if he had been…shining? Or glowing? Or something like that. 

“What is that, Merlin?”

There was a very small smile on Merlin’s face. “I needs to restarch…”

“Research?” Morgana offered.

“Yes, researched. Reads books…data…”

“What do you think it is?” 

Merlin chuckled and shrugged. “Magic.”


	58. Chapter 58

Arthur didn’t have time to ponder that. Magic. Yeah, right. He didn’t have magic. Well, maybe it was true what Hunith had said and everyone was part of magic, but he couldn’t use it and he only felt it around him sometimes as he was trained to. 

Merlin read a lot of old-fashioned books and talked to some of the elders and went out to meditate, but Arthur had to prepare for the finalization of the treaty, so after a few days off for winter celebrations, he went back to the city again. He could only do so much from home and he wanted to be present when they officially signed the document. Arthur didn’t care to be in the photos that would become historic documents, but it still gave him a thrill to be there when history was being made and this was his chance. 

There would be a little reception after the official part was over and Arthur wanted to talk to everybody involved in the negotiations. He knew he would be busy. 

In the evening, there would be a ball and Merlin had promised to be on time for that. What was more important to them both was the reception on board the Camelot the day after. Arthur hadn’t been on the Camelot since Percy’s and Gwaine’s wedding and he was eager to go. 

Smiling, as he remembered the enthusiastic video message of his friends from when they discovered what the chalet was really like, Arthur put his clothes together for the signing and the ball. He would just have to go get changed and then go downstairs again as the ball was being held at the hotel he was staying in. 

Arthur couldn’t help but smiling widely when Lanora put her signature on the official document and applauded with everybody else in the room when the treaty was sealed. As much as he wanted to stay out of it, Lanora insisted him being in the images that would be transmitted all over the planet and most likely on Earth and other Union planets, too. 

After the reception, Arthur knew he needed a little break before he got changed for the ball. When he opened the door to his rooms at the hotel, Merlin had already arrived. 

“How was it?”

“Exhausting.”

Merlin grinned. “And exciting. I already saw the pictures on the news.” He stepped close. “You look so good.”

“It was more about the representatives of Ealdor and the Union, not about me.”

Putting a quick kiss on Arthur’s lips, Merlin chuckled. “You are a representative of both, when will you ever get used to that?”

Arthur shrugged. “Never?” He leaned in to kiss Merlin properly. “Thanks for coming.”

“You’re always there when we have important meetings and rituals, so how could I not be part of something that is important to you?”

Merlin’s stomach grumbled and they both laughed. 

Arthur let go and switched on the display to search for the menu of room service. “What would you like?” He had been around people so much that day and they would have to be around people for another few hours, that he wanted to have some time just with Merlin. If that meant having a light dinner in their rooms, so be it. 

Merlin already knew what to chose and it didn’t take long before their food was being served. After dinner, they freshened up and put on the clothes they had brought for the occasion. 

+++

Arthur felt so proud. He had been part in something important and his gorgeous husband was right at his side, making small-talk to everyone who approached them, so he wasn’t just a good-looking trophy. 

“Let me get you another drink,” he whispered into Merlin’s ear and turned to find the bar. 

When he came back, he saw Valiant approaching Merlin and quickened his steps. What Valiant was doing on a diplomatic mission was beyond him, he had always been the bull in the China shop. 

“Stay away from him or else…” Valiant said to Merlin. 

“Or else what?” Arthur stepped up to them and put his arm around Merlin’s waist. “What do you want, Valiant? Whenever you are here – and nobody really knows how you got here in the first place – you are threatening me and now my husband. It has got to end. If you don’t stop it, I’ll report it to your chain of command.”

“Based on what evidence?” Valiant sneered. “You are a disgrace to Union Star Fleet!”

“That might be the reason why I don’t belong to it anymore. Just leave us alone and I won’t mention that you are just as much a disgrace to the Star Fleet as I am, for the very same reasons.” Arthur was so sick of this bloke. 

Merlin squeezed his hip to signal it was enough, that he should let it go if they didn’t want to cause a scene.

“What do you mean?” Valiant glared at him. 

Arthur lowered his voice. “Oh…let me help your memory. The many times at the Academy you tried to go out with me? That time in the locker room when you tried to kiss me? The time in the shower when you came on to me?”

Merlin stared at him as Valiant’s face got darker and darker. 

“So if you don’t want me to reveal the footage of that, leave us alone.” Arthur felt the by now familiar ripple underneath his skin. 

Valiant took a deep breath. “That was years ago, nobody will believe it anymore.”

“It was years ago…and you’re still not over it. Get professional help, Val.”

“But…” Valiant looked helpless for a moment. “I still…”

Arthur, who had been turning to leave Valiant standing there, stopped in his tracks. “No, you don’t. You never did. You only wanted to use me as a step up the ladder, being a Pendragon with an influential father. It was never about me and that’s why I was never interested in you. If you’d excuse us now.” He tried to pull Merlin along. 

“No!” Valiant cried out. “If I can’t have you, nobody will!”

Arthur let go of Merlin and turned, trying to tell Valiant that he was crazy and that somebody else already had him and he would never be in this picture, when he looked right into the barrel of a blaster. How on Earth had Valiant managed to smuggle a weapon in here?

A crowd had gathered around them and someone shouted for security, but it all went too fast. From the corner of his eyes, Arthur noticed that Merlin’s eyes were glowing golden and he felt the ripple underneath his skin intensifying. 

At the last second, Valiant turned the blaster and fired at Merlin. 

Without thinking twice, Arthur threw himself in the way, certain that Merlin only had put a protection spell on him and not himself. Even though the magic in him had flared up to help, it hurt like fuck when the shot from the laser blaster hit his chest. 

Registering faintly that security was finally there and overwhelmed Valiant, Arthur tried to stay conscious, but it hurt so bad. “Merl…”


	59. Chapter 59

Reality was fading in and out. There was a lot of commotion, but Arthur couldn’t keep his eyes open. He heard Merlin whisper to him – or maybe he was yelling at him – but he couldn’t react to tell him that he was fine. 

He was nowhere near being fine and even though Merlin performed some powerful magic, the ambulance took him away and doctors tried to stitch him up. Not that he noticed any of this happening. 

Damn, he’d never thought that a direct shot with a laser blaster would hurt like this. The constant ripple of magic underneath his skin didn’t really help either and Arthur didn’t even notice that doctors came and went, that Merlin was at his side and exchanged worried remarks with the medical personnel.

When he opened his eyes, it took him a moment to realize where he was. In one of the healing tanks on board the Camelot. The liquid that surrounded him gently sloshed around when he tried to lift his head. 

Immediately, Morgana’s face showed up in his field of vision and Merlin was there, too. He tried to smile. 

“Arthur! How are you feeling?” There was Merlin’s voice in his head.

He tried to say “Been better.” But no words came out. 

Merlin nodded and touched a hand to the glass. “Relax, it won’t be long.”

Morgana said something that he couldn’t hear.

“What?” He thought and could barely keep his eyes open. 

“Healer Morgana said to relax, rest, she’s keeping you in there a bit longer, but not too long, don’t worry.”

Arthur nodded and closed his eyes.

+++

When he thought all of this had taken just a couple of days, Arthur was surprised when they told him he had been in a hospital on Ealdor for two weeks before they transferred him to the Camelot where he spent another week in the healing tank. 

Now he was resting on the couch in his old quarters, looking out to the stars.

Merlin held out a mug to him. “How are you feeling?”

“It still itches and stinks, but at least I can breathe again.” He tried to give Merlin a reassuring smile. 

Reaching over, Merlin brushed a strand of hair off his forehead and then cupped his face. “I’m sorry.”

“Not your fault.” He sipped from the cup and smiled when he found that Merlin had programmed the replicator to produce a decent clogamora. 

“I should have been faster with the charm.”

Arthur reached over and squeezed Merlin’s hand. “Don’t beat yourself up over this. None of this is your fault.” He moved around a bit and made a face. “I thought the moons had given me eternal life. Where are they when you need them?”

It was meant as a joke, but Merlin didn’t laugh. “They obviously did. Or else…” There were tears in Merlin’s eyes and he looked away. 

“Nothing else. I’m here. Battered and bruised, but here. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.”

“That’s correct, little brother.” Morgana breezed in. Immediately she checked his vital signs with her medi scanner and then injected…whatever it was to his arm. 

“Ouch.” 

She grinned. “You’re taking a blaster shot to the chest that would have killed a horse but when you get an injection, you turn into a sissy? So not like you.” Leaning in, she put a kiss on his temple. “Don’t ever do anything stupid like that ever again, you hear me?” She whispered. 

“I…” I needed to protect Merlin. Arthur didn’t say that and just nodded. If being immortal meant that you could still be injured like this…it was better him than Merlin, he didn’t need to see Merlin suffer. 

Morgana pulled back and pushed something into Merlin’s hand. “Make sure he takes one of these every three to four hours. Other than that, I’ll leave him to you and your magic herbs.”

Merlin hugged her and Arthur knew that their hug was to comfort each other. 

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not, but you’ll be getting there.” Merlin was back at his side after Morgana left. He sighed. “I think we need to talk about this.”

“What’s there to talk about?” Arthur knew that he would hear a few things he didn’t really want to hear. 

“You know that magic would have protected me, don’t you?”

“Well, it did a good job protecting me.” Arthur looked down to where the bandage peeked from underneath his fluffy bathrobe. Where did that come from? He didn’t own one of these.

“It did indeed do a good job. That the moons granted you immortality doesn’t mean you can’t get injured.”

“But I couldn’t have died?”

Merlin took a deep breath. “Probably, we don’t know yet if your immortality needs to get stronger over time. Nobody knows how it works, the moons don’t do that often. In fact, they haven’t done it in millenia.”

Arthur still held Merlin’s hand and squeezed it. “I…I didn’t think. I saw the arsehole trying to kill you and just acted.”

Leaning in, Merlin pressed a kiss on Arthur’s temple. “I love you for that.”

“But?”

“Don’t do it again, okay?”

It felt good to have Merlin so close. Merlin, who was still here, who had been at his side the entire time. 

“Can’t promise that.” Arthur huffed out a chuckle. “Ouch.”

“See,” Merlin pulled back and grinned. “That’s what you get for disobeying Emrys.”

Of course, Merlin would use his title to remind him that he wasn’t as fragile as he looked, but Arthur would not, he just could not promise that he wouldn’t do it again if Merlin was in danger. 

+++

Soon, he was able to wander around the quarters and a while later, he went on little trips not only to sick back but around the ship. Morgana had threatened physio treatment for his shoulder that held just so first to relieve the pain, then as a measure of protection and later out of habit, so he went to get the treatments. He had never thought that moving your shoulder could be such hard work, but he was more than willing to do it. Sometimes, Medic Yooun had to hold him back to not overdo it. 

Arthur hated that he wasn’t fit. He’d had his share of little injuries after work-outs or sports, but it was nothing that a trip or two to sick back couldn’t cure. This here needed time as nobody had really researched the effects of laser blaster shots on magic. Still, he was frustrated. 

“Calm down.” Morgana raised an eyebrow and it reminded him very much of Gaius. 

“I can’t. I don’t want this to take so long. Make it go away.” Arthur knew he sounded like stubborn child but he’s had enough of this. 

She looked at him. “I would if I could. If it weren’t for the magic in you, we wouldn’t be talking here now.”

“I always thought magic was…”

“Non-existent? Stupid? Something from fairy tales?”

“No…yes, but no…I think I still don’t really understand it.”

To his surprise, Morgana chuckled. “That’s the first step to understanding it.”

“Huh?”

“Admitting that you don’t understand it. If you went on pretending you knew everything, you can’t learn anything new.”

“Okay, but…”

She shook her head. “Let it do its work. I don’t know if it’s in you or around you or how it works, but it seems to like you or else it might not be working so hard to get you back together.”

Arthur didn’t know what to reply to that and carefully pulled his t-shirt down again. Morgana had decided he didn’t need any bandages anymore and it felt odd to have the soft fabric slide over his chest. 

“You know what?”

“Hm?” Sliding off the examination bench, Arthur tucked his shirt into his pants. 

“We are going for a coffee in the mess hall.”

Arthur’s face lit up. She hadn’t allowed him to leave his quarters too often and in the beginning wasn’t happy about his little walks along the decks. That she suggested going into a public place was the highlight of his week. 

“Alright, let’s go.”


	60. Chapter 60

It felt good to be greeted that warmly when he entered the mess hall at Morgana’s side. Everyone waved or shouted out and even though he tried to make them stay, people gave up their table by the window for him and his sister. 

‘Arthur?’ A worried voice sounded through his head while Morgana went to get them the promised coffee. 

‘I’m here, Merlin.’

‘Where is here? You’re not in sick bay and not in our quarters…’

‘Calm down, Merlin. Morgana took me to the mess hall for a coffee. Come, join us.’

It didn’t take long for Merlin to rush in. 

Morgana saw from where she was getting the drinks and got one for Merlin, too. 

“Hi Merlin. I thought I’d kidnap my brother for a moment and bring him back into the real world.” She smiled and took the mugs off the little tray and shoved them in front of the men. 

“Thanks.” Arthur smiled. 

“I was looked for you!”

Arthur looked at Merlin. “Sorry…I still can’t reach out for you like this. When you talk to me, I can hear you and you hear what I think, but…” He shrugged slightly. 

Merlin reached for his hand. “I forgets. I thinks you talks to me the same.”

Morgana frowned. “Wait a minute…you…you hear Merlin in your head? And when you think,” she turned to look at Merlin, “you can hear it?”

“Yes.” Merlin looked as if he didn’t understand why this was special. 

“Since…since when can you do that?”

Arthur threw Merlin a sideways look. “Basically…from the beginning?”

“What? And you never told me?”

“The answering…that’s since… I don’t even remember when…” Arthur looked at Merlin. “But that I could hear him…that was…even back when we found you.”

Merlin nodded. “I calls Arthur when I was in tank.”

Morgana looked from one to the other and for once didn’t know what to say. 

She was rescued by Percy who had just stepped into the mess hall. His face lit up when he saw Arthur and Merlin, then he gestured to let them know he would join them once he got a tea.

Arthur had had visitors while he was confined to his quarters, but it felt so much better to meet everyone out here. 

Percy slurped his tea. “We just got news.”

“Huh?”

“Your attacker…they will put him into a mental care facility after his injuries from the arrest healed.”

Arthur felt Merlin squeezing his hand a bit tighter. “Oh.”

“I hope they never let him out again.” Morgana frowned. 

“What…I don’t really remember what happened…”

Morgana reached over. “And that’s a good thing. They arrested the arsehole and now they’re going to lock him up.”

Percy looked unhappy. “If they had put me in charge of security…”

“It woulds have happening, too.” Merlin said. “Valjand is evil, he tricksed security.”

When Morgana saw that Arthur got a bit paler, she shrugged. “It caused quite a bit of diplomatic stir. You are popular with both sides, Arthur, you did a fantastic job. If it weren’t for you, this treaty wouldn’t be as good as it is. It might even never have come to be.”

The treaty…it seemed like all his work for it was done in another life. 

“And now,” Morgana drank the last of her coffee, “I declare this outing finished. You need to get some rest and I will see you tomorrow morning.”

She smiled widely, but Arthur knew when she was giving doctor’s orders. So he finished his coffee, too. 

“Take me back to our quarters?” He gave Merlin a shaky smile. 

Percy got up, too. “By the way, Gwaine wanted to come over a lot sooner, but he had to take another shift because Jearson had..oh, doesn’t matter what he had to do. Long story short, Gwaine says hi and he will give you a warning before he comes over.”

“Married life is treating you well.” Arthur smiled.

Nodding, Percy grinned. “Never thought it would be like this, but it’s much better than what we did all those years.”

+++

“I’m happy for them.” Arthur made a sound when he sank down on the couch. This trip to the mess hall had been more exhausting than he was willing to admit. 

“They belong together.” Merlin smiled. “Like we do.”

Arthur held out his hand and pulled Merlin a bit closer. “Merlin.”

“Hm? Do you need anything? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yes.”

“What? Tell me. Anything.”

“Stop running back and forth, curl up with me and hold me?” Arthur looked up and he saw Merlin hesitate. 

“I…you…”

He let go of Merlin’s hand. “You can’t touch me anymore.”

“What makes you think that?”

“You haven’t touched me since this happened.”

Merlin sat down on the coffee table. “But I have! I kept holding your hand all the time.”

“And I’m grateful for that, but…” He looked over. “In the past days, while I start feeling better…you only ever take my hand or my arm…to help me along or something. I miss your touch.” Arthur knew he sounded like a spoilt child, pouting, but it was true. Merlin had been wonderful, being at his side the entire time, helping him if he needed the help or not, but he missed his Merlin. 

“I’m right here.”

“Lie with me?”

It took a moment before Merlin nodded. 

They moved around and Merlin spooned him from behind, nuzzling into his neck. Arthur loved the contact. He had always been a bit of a loner, but since Merlin had tumbled into his life, he needed human touch. Or Ealdorian touch, to feel complete. Merlin hadn’t touched him like this in weeks and it felt so good to just feel his warm body behind him, holding him. “Love you.”

He tried to adjust his breathing to Merlin’s and finally fell asleep.

+++

The next morning, Arthur felt refreshed for the first time since the accident. He knew he would have to go see a psychologist, it was standard procedure and Morgana wouldn’t let him off the ship if he hadn’t seen him at least once. He had been in dangerous situations before, but nobody had tried to kill him like that. Or rather, had tried to kill Merlin. He knew that Merlin wasn’t happy and tried to get the promise out of him that he would never do anything remotely similar like that because magic protected Merlin and he could actively use it, but Arthur knew he couldn’t promise that. He would do it again in the blink of an eye. He would not stand by and watch Merlin getting hurt. 

The thought alone made him angry and fierce and Arthur blinked. For a short moment, his hands had been glowing white; just the way Morgana and Merlin had described it. That was scary. What was that? As if he didn’t have enough of his plate right now! Could this be cured? But Merlin had said it was magic. Could he use magic now? It didn’t feel like it. If he were back on Ealdor, he could ask Gaius or Alator. 

The door of their quarters slid open and Merlin came in with a huge container, which was probably full of breakfast from the mess hall. He was followed by Morgana. 

“Morning!”

“Morning,” Arthur mumbled absent-mindedly, still looking at his hands. 

“You okay?” Morgana came over and immediately did a medi scan.

“Yes…” He looked up. “Yes, I’m good.”

Merlin had shoved the container on the table and stood close. “What wrong, Arthur?”

“I…nothing.” He smiled. “What did you bring? I’m hungry.”

The look on Merlin’s face showed clearly that he wasn’t fooled, but he let it go. He turned and unpacked omelets, toasted bread, artisian bread, lots of things to go on it and freshly brewed coffee. 

Morgana invited herself by taking three mugs out of the cabinet in the small kitchen and pouring them all coffee.

“What brings you here at this time of day, Morgs?” Arthur took a bite of the omelet.

She exchanged a look with Merlin. “You have to make a decision, Arthur.”

“What kind of decision?” He hadn’t been aware that there was anything he had to decide at this point in time. 

Merlin looked at him. “Camelot will leaves. Has to go Earth now.”

Arthur blinked. 

“So, little brother, will you stay…or will you go?”


	61. Chapter 61

Arthur looked from one to the other. 

“We’re just making a round trip and I could keep you under medical supervision at all times.” Morgana explained. 

“We has all the herbs we needs to stay.” Merlin offered.

“But if you want to go back to the surface, I do understand.” Morgana smiled wryly. “You live here, now.”

“I…I don’t know…” That was huge, Arthur had never thought about coming back on board the Camelot for a longer period of time. 

Morgana patted his arm. “Then think about it.” She threw Merlin a look. “Talk it through. Then decide.” She got up, kissed both of them on the cheek and left after stealing a grape from Merlin’s muesli. 

When she was gone, Arthur didn’t know what to say. 

“Here, you have a medical professional…and you have magic helping you get well.” 

Looking at Merlin, Arthur took a deep breath. “Wouldn’t the moons of Ealdor heal me faster?”

Merlin shrugged. “Probably. Maybe not. You’re not all Ealdorian, so it would be good to have a Earthling healer here, too. But Healer Morgana has to leave.”

“Why does this sound as if you had already made up my mind?” Arthur looked over. 

Grinning, Merlin shoved some fruit into his mouth. “I always wanted to go to Earth, you know?”

Slowly, Arthur matched Merlin’s grin. “You mean, like a vacation?”

“Yes.” Merlin set his spoon down. “Now Ealdor is a friend of the Union, they came to our planet, we treated them nicely. I should be able to go to Earth without being dissected.”

“An Earth vacation…” Arthur repeated, not yet believing what he had thought was impossible for them. 

“On the trip there, you can heal up fully, we can spend time with our friends and you can show me all the nice places on Earth.”

It sounded as if Merlin already had made plans. 

“Won’t they need us on Ealdor?”

“The trip wouldn’t take forever. We’d be back before the next rituals and celebrations.” Merlin’s grin got impossibly wider. 

“I’d…I’d need to talk to Lanora.”

“You can message her from here?”

“And we’d be back in a few weeks?”

“Yes.”

“For sure?”

“Yes.”

“You really want to go, don’t you, Merlin?” Arthur laughed. 

Merlin grinned and shrugged. “Yes.” Then he got a bit more serious. “You saw where I grew up. I would like to see where you did.”

Arthur huffed out a chuckle. “It’s a conspiracy.”

“Because everyone here is hoping that we will stay with them for a while? You could see what Leon did to the Camelot, we could go out with the bridge crew, I could visit Gwen in the engine room…and aside from spending time with your sister, you would have your personal healer by your side all the time.”

“It sounds fantastic when you put it that way.”

Merlin laughed. “Well…you worked hard and deserve a little break after what you’ve been going through.”

Arthur didn’t say anything for a while. It sounded tempting. He had missed the Camelot but he wasn’t sure that he could cope with being on board without having an actual function. And there was Ealdor. The treaty was signed but there was so much to work on, explain all the differences between people from Earth and from Ealdor to each other to make the cooperation work in everyday life…  
“I…I just don’t know.”

+++

“There’s a transmission for you, Arthur. Would you like to take it in the briefing room?” Leon’s face had showed up on the screen. 

“Who is it?”

Leon just grinned. “I’ll tell them that you’re on your way.”

Arthur had no idea what this was about, so he rather changed into a clean shirt instead of the old t-shirt he’d been wearing to work with Medic Yooun. While he pretended that his shoulder was just fine, they both knew they still had a bit of work ahead, even though it already worked a lot better than in the beginning. 

Entering the briefing room, he saw President Headington already waiting for him. The President of Earth? Head of the Union? What could she possibly want from him?

“Counselor Pendragon!” The President greeted him warmly.

“Madam President.” Would he have nodded courtly just a year ago, he now bowed his head slightly, the way Ealdorians showed their respect. He didn’t even think about the gesture, it came naturally. 

She smiled. “I am so sorry about what happened. I hope you are feeling better now?”

Arthur nodded. “I have the best healers and physio treatment that I can get. I’ll be as good as new in no time.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

Arthur waited. She had initiated the transmission, he was sure she wanted something. 

“You know we would like to have you here on Earth for the trial of your attacker, even though your testimony could be done via video transmission, too, if you chose to do that.”

“I have not decided yet.” Of course he would love to see Valiant squirm, but…then again…he was probably not even worth the effort. 

“I understand.” President Headington took a deep breath. “On a different note…we know about the great things you have accomplished for the treaty. You may have heard about the position as ambassador that is still vacant.”

Arthur nodded. He had heard about it, but then forgotten about it just as fast. 

“I would like to discuss that with you. Please let me know when you decided to come to Earth.”

His training prevented Arthur from taking in a deep breath and not move a muscle in his face. He bent his head slightly. “I will. Thank you, Madam President.”

She nodded and ended the transmission. 

+++

Arthur sat by the window in Seven Below. His time to decide what he wanted to do was running out. The Camelot would take off in not even twenty-four hours. It wasn’t too long ago that he had entirely changed his life. He had given up a life of adventures between the stars for a more stable one on a planet he had never been to before. Over time, he had learned to love Ealdor and all its creatures. Was he ready to leave it behind for new adventures?

If he could say so himself, he had done a pretty good job as counselor, but was it enough to prepare him for the diplomatic tasks of an ambassador? And what exactly did an ambassador do all day long? 

Sipping his coffee, he let out a long, suffering sigh. 

“Hey, what’s the long face?” Gwaine slid into the chair opposite Arthur without bothering to ask if he wanted company. 

“Got a lot on my mind.”

“Counselor-y stuff?” Gwaine mimicked the way Merlin had said ‘Captain stuff?’ when they were still part of the crew. 

“Kind of.”

“Or more…ambassador-y stuff?” Grinning, Gwaine sipped his drink.

Arthur looked at him. “What do you know about that?”

“Oh, come on, man. It’s an open secret that they want you in this position.”

“It is?”

“Ever since you made it clear that the moons of Ealdor were off limits, your name is on top of the list.”

Arthur shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Gwaine leaned back and looked outside the window. “Since our honeymoon, I do understand why you love to be on this planet.” For a moment, he smiled, deep in thought, before he pulled himself back and grinned at Arthur. “But it would be a waste to just stay there…with all your knowledge and skills…”

“You should understand that it’s not just me anymore.”

“Oh, I do.” Gwaine chuckled and flicked his hair back. “I do, Captain. But your other half is already telling everyone that you are going to Earth.”

“He did WHAT?”

“He’s all over the ship, telling everyone you are going on a trip.”

Arthur groaned. “I need to talk to him.”

“You probably should. So far, he thinks it’s a vacation.”

“I’m not sure I can tear him out of his environment, he belongs on Ealdor.” Images of Merlin amongst the druids and with the dragons came up in his mind. 

“Merlin is happy wherever you are.” Gwaine finished his coffee. “Alright, I gotta go back. Talk to Merlin, maybe it will be easier for you make up your mind.” Gwaine nodded and left.


	62. Chapter 62

Arthur made it back to their quarters so deep in thought that he sometimes missed the ‘Captain’ or ‘Counselor’ of the ship’s crew he passed. Gwaine might have been right, Merlin was probably happy as long as they were together, but he belonged on Ealdor. If they went on this trip, their lives would most likely change again forever. 

On the other side, that ambassador position was very tempting. Not that Arthur really knew what it entailed, but he hadn’t been sure what his job as counselor, especially for both sides, held either and he had grown with the task. 

If it kept Merlin from being on Ealdor and doing his part in the rituals and ceremonies, though, he wouldn’t do it. 

“Merlin?”

Merlin, who had just been standing at the replicator, obviously trying to convince it to produce a decent seasonal clogamora, looked up. “You’re back! Want one, too?” He pointed at the mug. 

“Yes…thank you…Merlin…we need to talk.”

Merlin stood stock-still and just looked at him. 

“No, nothing is wrong. But we have to make a few decisions.”

Visibly relaxing, Merlin took the mugs and came over. Setting one down in front of Arthur, he sat in the armchair and looked at him. “You have to make the decisions.”

Arthur shook his head slightly and smiled. “It’s not just my decision anymore. It’s our decision. It might change a lot and we’ve already had some major changes.”

“Then…we should know how to handle them.” Merlin smiled as if this was the easiest thing in the universe. 

“Merlin…the President of Earth, who is also the President of the entire Union…she offered me a position.” He waited for Merlin to react to that, but it looked as if Merlin already had heard of it. 

“And you’re going to take it.” Merlin said after a moment of silence. 

“I’m not sure.”

“I am.” Merlin grinned. 

“You don’t know what it means. It would mean not being on Ealdor for longer periods of time, lots of travelling back and forth through the universe, being a part of important negotiations, lots of representing, sometimes not being able to say what you want to say but to say what the situation dictates you to say. It might mean…not enough time for us.” There, he said it. He knew it sounded sappy but it was one of the reasons that made him hesitate. Had he still been on his own, he wouldn’t have blinked an eye and immediately agreed. But now there was Merlin and he had almost lost him because of work before. He couldn’t let that happen again, there might not always be dragons around to remind him. 

“I do.” Merlin sat up a bit straighter. “I know that it means all that and more that we haven’t found out yet.” He relaxed a bit. “I also know that I’ve always dreamed of travelling the universe, even as a small boy.”

“But your responsibilities on Ealdor…”

Merlin shook his head. “They did well without me.”

“Huh?”

“I left the planet and didn’t know if I’d ever come back. I was out in space in my little shuttle for quite a while. They had to do everything on their own and they did.”

Arthur blinked. He had never asked how much time Merlin had spent out there on his own before they found him. 

“And if we can manage, I can be back for the major events. If they need me, they know how to reach me, now that they are in the Union. It’s not like I fell out of the universe.”

Why did it all have to make so much sense when Merlin put it that way? 

“I…I’m still not sure.”

Merlin got up and came over to sit down right next to him. “Why don’t you just go and meet with the President and listen to what she has to say and then you decide? I think you would be perfect in this position and we could make quite the entrance in our ceremonial robes, don’t you think?” Merlin grinned. “And if the job gets too much or I feel like I have to go to Ealdor, I will let you know and we’ll find a solution. I am certain you are destined for great things and this is only the beginning of it. Don’t take that away from yourself before you even tried.”

+++

They had sat and talked most of the night and Merlin had fallen asleep in his arms on the couch in the early hours of the morning. Arthur still didn’t know if he decided to pack up and go back to Ealdor or stay and start a new chapter of his life. All he knew was that he loved the man in his arms with all of his heart as he was willing to give up his life on Ealdor to be by his side should he accept the position. 

What if Merlin was right? What if he should just try it out? He could still resign from the position if he found out it wasn’t doing them any good. And yes, maybe he should have that talk with the President and her people before he already thought he had the position. Maybe they found out that they wanted someone else and didn’t even offer the job in the end? Then he could at least say that he tried and go back to Ealdor to his tasks of advising throughout the time they built the space station. And if all else failed, he could go back to his occupation as dragon kindergarden teacher. 

He huffed out a chuckle at that thought. Then again, he had tried to just be a husband. He wasn’t good at being confined to the house. He had adjusted and started training and his world, even though still confined to one planet, had broadened so much. He had seen and experienced things he had never thought possible. And this whole thing with magic….it would be a lie to say he understood what was going on, but it was at least interesting. 

His entire life, Arthur had trained to be one of the leading officers in Union Star Fleet. He had thought that was the only world he understood and would get in touch with. They had shuttled dignitaries back and forth, but that was the most common ground he ever had with diplomacy. And all of a sudden, he had become a diplomat himself. And he liked it. 

The prospect of being a diplomat in space, therefore combining two of the things he liked, was really tempting. And Merlin was all for it. 

If he could negotiate a few things in the contract – should he even be offered one…yes, he would try it. The moment Merlin wasn’t happy, he would withdraw from it, though. 

Arthur smiled. Not too long ago, he was convinced that he would spend his life alone and wouldn’t have to adjust to anyone else and now Merlin was the most important thing in his life. What he wanted wasn’t as important anymore. He knew that Merlin would have lots of fun exploring other planets, meeting people from all over the universe and spreading his almost childish joy over small things around. Merlin needed his home planet, though. It was where his connection with magic was the strongest, where he could recharge and he would do anything he could to give Merlin the chance to do that. 

Merlin moved by his side and yawned. “Oh…fell asleep.”

“Yes, you did.” Arthur smiled. Merlin was adorable when he was sleepy and his hair was sticking out and he rubbed his eyes and yawned. 

“How late is it?”

“Almost morning.”

Merlin sighed. “And you have been thinking all through the night. We need to go breathe together.” He snuggled back against Arthur.

Arthur pressed a kiss on Merlin’s hair. “No, we don’t.”

Looking up, Merlin smiled. “You decided?”

“Yes.”

“Alright.” Merlin nodded and snuggled back at his side, his head on Arthur’s shoulder.

+++

It had been a hectic few hours with shuttling a few things from the house they wanted to have along up to the Camelot, having Merlin message Hunith and explain the entire situation and coming back on board. Arthur knew they didn’t only want to spend the time on Earth that he needed for the trial and the talks with President Headington. Just like Merlin had shown him the wonderful places on Ealdor, he wanted to show him what Earth had to offer, so they might not be back with the Camelot’s next run and only when everything was clear and they knew where all of this would lead them. 

Arthur had another physio treatment in the morning and then Morgana insisted on checking him again. Ever since he made the decision, he felt charged with new energy and it looked like Morgana wouldn’t hold him back, but supported him and he was grateful that his relationship with his sister had changed so much. As children, they had hated each other and he hadn’t been too happy when Star Fleet put her under his command. They both had grown and worked as a team now. 

Just as he got dressed to go to Seven Below to watch the Camelot depart, the display came to life.

“Leon!”

“Good afternoon, Arthur.”

“What is it?” Arthur smiled, knowing that Leon was busy preparing the ship’s departure and he hoped that this was probably about having a drink together after Leon’s shift or something. 

“We are about to take off.”

“Exciting times.” Arthur grinned.

“Would you and Merlin like to come to the bridge to watch the procedures?”

Arthur’s grin widened. He had invited dignitaries to this so many times and never thought he would be the one to be invited. Especially after he said his good-byes to the Captain’s chair. “We’d love to.”

He had no official function here on the ship at the moment, he was on sick leave, but he still put on his old uniform that he had stripped of all the insignia. He wanted to be part of the Camelot but needed to show that he had no power of control whatsoever. Still, he knew, if anyone on the ship needed his knowledge, he would be there to help in the blink of an eye. 

“You’re looking good.” Merlin stepped out of their bedroom, wearing the old jumpsuit they had given him when he had rescued the Camelot. Obviously he felt the same about the ship and her crew.

“So do you.” Arthur tugged at the collar of Merlin’s suit and leaned in for a quick kiss. “Ready to go?”

Merlin nodded. 

+++

The greeting of the bridge crew was as cordial as he expected and the urge to check with every station if they were ready to go was strong. But someone else was in the Camelot’s Captain chair now, so Arthur kept his eyes trained on the big screens. When he felt Merlin throwing him a look, he reached for his hand and squeezed it. “We will be back,” he whispered and Merlin just nodded, very convinced of that fact. 

Arthur listened to Leon getting the ‘ready, Sir’ from all the officers he checked back with. It was protocol, everyone would immediately tell him when something was wrong, but it sounded so familiar that Arthur had to hold himself back to not react to it.

They were ready. The Camelot would slowly pull away from Ealdor and then engage hyperdrive. 

Leon got up and all of a sudden, all eyes were trained on Arthur. 

What was going on?

Merlin squeezed his hand and grinned widely. 

“Captain?” Leon gestured to his chair. “Would you do us the honour?”

What? WHAT? Arthur felt like his grin was splitting his head. Are you sure? He wanted to ask. Isn’t this against protocol? Shot through his mind. But every fiber of his being yelled ‘YES!’. 

Merlin nudged him and with everyone watching, Arthur walked down the ramp and sat down in the chair that had been his for so long. 

Taking a deep breath, he looked from one to the other and when he was met with expectant smiles, he sat up a bit straighter and nodded. 

“Lieutenant Greene, take her out of here.”

The End?


End file.
